Record flooding and mudslides force closure of Yellowstone national park

The “gateway” community of Gardiner, Montana, just north of the park’s northern boundary and home to many Yellowstone staff members, has been cut off due to a mudslide in the vicinity, according to the National Park Service.

Electric power was knocked out in multiple areas of the park, and preliminary assessments showed numerous sections of roads throughout Yellowstone either washed away or covered in rocks and mud, with a number of bridges also damaged, the park service said.

Various roads in the park’s southern tier were on the verge of being flooded, according to the agency.

The flooding and slides were triggered by days of torrential showers in the park and steady rains across much of the wider region after one of its wettest springs in many years. The park service characterized the levels of rainfall and flooding sweeping the park as unprecedented.

A sudden spike in summer temperatures during the past three days also has hastened melting and runoff of snow accumulated in the park’s higher elevations from late-winter storms.

The heavy rains and rapid runoff of snow melt converged to create treacherous conditions in the park just two weeks after the traditional Memorial Day holiday weekend kickoff of the US summer tourist season, which accounts for the bulk of Yellowstone’s annual 4 million visitors.

Source: The Guardian