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    Yellowstone Park temporarily closed due to flooding: Images and video here

    Narwhal19 Posted on
    The North Entrance Road into Yellowstone National Park washed out in multiple places as the Gardner River overflowed its banks during heavy flooding on Monday, June 13, 2022. The historic Yellowstone flooding has closed the park for the first time in 34 years. Image via National Park Service.

    As of this afternoon (Tuesday, June 14, 2022), the U.S. National Park Service continues to say that all all entrances into Yellowstone National Park will remain closed to inbound traffic until at least Wednesday, June 15, due to flooding. The entrances have been closed since June 13.

    It’s the first time in 34 years that Yellowstone National Park has closed. The last time was due to the devastating wildfires of 1988.

    And, with much of the road washed out near Gardiner, Montana, the north entrance will be closed indefinitely. The community of Gardiner found itself cut off from surrounding areas. Yellowstone park superintendent Cam Sholly said:

    Due to record flooding events in the park and more precipitation in the forecast, we have made the decision to close Yellowstone to all inbound visitation. Our first priority has been to evacuate the northern section of the park where we have multiple road and bridge failures, mudslides and other issues. The community of Gardiner is currently isolated, and we are working with the county and State of Montana to provide necessary support to residents, who are currently without water and power in some areas.

    Yellowstone flooding of historic proportions

    Heavy rain plus snowmelt caused rivers to overflow their banks in areas of southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming. The Yellowstone River north of the park at Corwin Springs rose to nearly 14 feet (4 meters), a new record. The previous record was 11 1/2 feet (3.5 meters), set more than 100 years ago on June 14, 1918.

    As you can see from the video in the tweet from Yellowstone National Park below, the North Entrance Road that leads into the northwestern corner of the park from Gardiner, Montana, suffered massive damage due to the flooding.

    Surrounding area impacted by flooding

    Flooding also inundated communities in Montana upriver from Yellowstone National Park. Floodwaters have swamped communities including Gardiner, Cooke City, Red Lodge, Silver Gate, Livingston and more. The Montana National Guard performed rescues in Roscoe and Cooke City, successfully evacuating people who were stranded by floodwaters.

    Bottom line: Historic Yellowstone flooding has temporarily closed the park because floodwaters have washed out roads and buildings. Surrounding communities are also devastated by the floods.

    Read more: Study reveals biggest Yellowstone supervolcano eruption

    Kelly Kizer Whitt

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    About the Author:

    Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives with her family in Wisconsin.

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