In 2012, strong winds and a vicious storm surge from Hurricane Isaac actually caused the mighty Miss
In 2012, strong winds and a vicious storm surge from Hurricane Isaac actually caused the mighty Mississippi river to reverse its flow for nearly 24 hours. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), measured the river flowing backwards at 180,000 cubic feet per second, upstream, with a surge 10 feet above its previous height. Although it is not too common, the extremely strong winds and massive waves associated with hurricanes can cause coastal rivers to reverse their flow. The Director of the USGS, Marcia McNutt said at the time “This reversal of flow of the mighty Mississippi is but one measure of the extreme force of Isaac. While such events are ephemeral, they are yet another reminder of why we need to respect hurricane warnings.” The behaviour of rivers is monitored in real-time by USGS by means of extensive networks of stream-gages. The gauges can record; flow rate, river height and in some cases, even water chemistry. This information can be accessed online via http://water.usgs.gov/wateralert/ and allows the public to receive notifications of water levels at over 7,000 locations across the US. -Jean Image courtesy of Rogelio V. Solis -- source link
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