Unusually warm temperatures and torrential rains caused a wave of snowmelt over the weekend, with nearly a foot of water spilled by Monday.
From June 10th to June 13th, the Beatus and Absaroka Mountains “received more than 0.8 to 5 inches of rainfall,” the Billings National Meteorological Office said on Tuesday.
CNN Weather calculations show that the combination of extreme weather and snowmelt has resulted in floods equivalent to areas that receive 2-3 months of summer precipitation in just three days.
Later, huge amounts of water flowed into lowland rivers and valleys, where they rose rapidly to record depths, leading to “rare or unprecedented floods.” A forecaster from the National Weather Service said.
According to NOAA, the Yellowstone River, which runs through parks and cities in several Park County, reached 13.88 feet in Corwin Springs on Monday afternoon, surpassing the historic height of 11.5 feet since 1918.
In a report published last year, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, Montana State University, and the University of Wyoming described how the climate changed from 1950 to 2018, based on projected greenhouse gas scenarios, at the end of the century. I investigated how it would continue until. From the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
According to reports, average temperatures in the Greater Yellowstone region have risen 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950 and could rise another 5 to 10 degrees Celsius in the coming decades.
In a climate scenario where greenhouse gas emissions will be significantly reduced over the next few years, scientists have found that annual precipitation in the region can increase by 9% to 15%, but with high temperatures. Evaporation rates can still exacerbate drought conditions in the region.
This suggests that the Yellowstone region will experience what the rest of the west has already experienced. It is a long-term dry condition interrupted by short torrential rains leading to dangerous flash floods.
Studies show how climate change can cause larger, heavier rain events and even more flash floods as Montana and Wyoming are currently facing.
Rivers and streams in the Yellowstone area may return to normal levels due to cold and dry weather, but hotter temperatures are expected this week and weekends.
“In the highlands, plan for the highlands of the 1960s and 1970s. [Friday and Saturday]It should melt much of the remaining snow and lead to further river rises. “
Judson Jones of CNN Weather contributed to this report.
Source: www.cnn.com
