2022 Yellowstone National Park Flood¶
In June 2022, parts of Montana and Wyoming experienced an extreme rain event. 2 to 3 inches of rain fell in a short period which caused a large amount of snow to melt. The resulting runoff caused massive flooding throughout Yellowstone National Park, specifically on the Yellowstone River, Lamar River, and other waterways in the northern portions of the park. Multiple park entrances were closed and park infrastructure, particularly roads and bridge, sustained high levels of damage.
Climatology: The more arid northern regions of YNP receive approximately 15 to 20 inches of rain per year. Average summer daytime high temperatures range from 70°F to 80°F
Ecology: Yellowstone National Park is known for it's diverse and pristine landscapes, including rugged mountains, high desert, riverine valleys, and mixed conifer forests. Yellowstone is home to many species of plants and wildlife but is most well known for large populations of bison, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and coyotes. Wolves and grizzly bears are also present here.
Communities and Infrastructure: Yellowstone National Park is largely undeveloped but a network of roads, campgrounds, interpretive centers, hotels, and other recreational facilities are present.
Map showing the location of the Lamar River USGS Stream Gauge¶
The stream gauge on the Lamar river has been recording discharge data for over 100 years, but there is a gap in the data from approximately 1969 through 1988.¶
We are going to calculate exceedance probability and return rate to analyze the significance of this particular flood event.¶
| CFS | Exceedance_Prob | Return_Period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | |||
| 1923-01-01 | 218.0 | 0.831683 | 1.202381 |
| 1924-01-01 | 4040.0 | 0.811881 | 1.231707 |
| 1925-01-01 | 11500.0 | 0.089109 | 11.222222 |
| 1926-01-01 | 6230.0 | 0.653465 | 1.530303 |
| 1927-01-01 | 11200.0 | 0.108911 | 9.181818 |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 2019-01-01 | 9590.0 | 0.217822 | 4.590909 |
| 2020-01-01 | 11200.0 | 0.108911 | 9.181818 |
| 2021-01-01 | 5960.0 | 0.673267 | 1.485294 |
| 2022-01-01 | 23800.0 | 0.009901 | 101.000000 |
| 2023-01-01 | 8170.0 | 0.405941 | 2.463415 |
101 rows × 3 columns
The 2022 flood event has a return period of 101 years. It is the only flood event of this magnitude that was recording over the time period analyzed.¶
The exceedance probability for the 2022 event correlates to the return period findings.¶
Data Source¶
The data for this project comes from the United States Geologic Survey National Water Dashboard tool.
Citation¶
U.S. Geological Survey, 2023, National Water Information System", data available on the World Wide Web (USGS Water Data for the Nation),accessed September 18th, 2023, at URL https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/06188000/