Publication Date June 14, 2022 | Climate Nexus Hot News

'Unprecedented' Rain Closes Yellowstone, Collapses Roads And Bridges

Yellowstone National Park
In this photo provided by the National Park Service, is high water in the Gardiner River along the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Montana, that washed out part of a road on Monday, June 13, 2022. (Credit: National Park Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the National Park Service, is high water in the Gardiner River along the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Montana, that washed out part of a road on Monday, June 13, 2022. (Credit: National Park Service via AP)

Extreme rainfall washed out roads and bridges in and around Yellowstone National Park on Monday, forcing the closure of every entrance to the park and the evacuation of visitors cutoff within it. June is the busiest month for Yellowstone National Park and it is unknown how long the park will be closed. The Yellowstone River crested at 13.88 feet on Monday, two feet higher than the previous record set in 1918. The increasing frequency and severity of extreme precipitation events is a clear signal of climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. The flooding, also fed by snowpack melted by the "unprecedented" rain, may get even worse as it moves downstream toward more developed areas. One visitor told the AP, "we started seeing entire trees floating down the river, debris. Saw one crazy single kayaker coming down through, which was kind of insane.”

(APBozeman Daily ChronicleAxiosWashington Post $, CNNNBCThe HillNBCNewsweek; Climate Signals background: Extreme precipitation increase)

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