Summer 2011 Missouri River Basin flood
Science Center Objects
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the 2011 Missouri River Basin Flood resulting from higher-than-average snowmelt runoff combined with heavy spring rains.
USGS crews from Montana to Missouri watched closely as a higher-than-average snowmelt runoff combined with heavy spring rains advanced down the Missouri River system. Large reservoirs managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are carefully managed with the help of data from the USGS streamgaging network to control flood levels.
June 2011 Mississippi River flood photograph
USGS Missouri River Reports:
The following studies from USGS Professional Paper 1798 detail some of the scientific work done by USGS researchers on 2011 flooding in the Missouri River Basin.
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Chapter F: Sediment Transport and Deposition in the Lower Missouri River During the 2011 Flood
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Chapter I: Geomorphic Change on the Missouri River During the Flood of 2011
USGS Activities in the News:
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Date published: February 28, 2019Status: ActiveHistorical Flooding
The USGS provides practical, unbiased information about the Nation's rivers and streams that is crucial in mitigating hazards associated with floods. This site provides information about the USGS activities, data, and services provided during regional high-flow events, such as hurricanes or multi-state flooding events. The USGS response to these events is typically managed by the National...
Attribution: Water Resources, Floods and Droughts
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Date published: February 26, 2019Status: CompletedTropical Storm Lee
During and after Tropical Storm Lee, the USGS made stream flow measurements, sampled suspended sediment, and repaired gages in Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other states in the region.
Attribution: Water Resources, Floods and Droughts -
Date published: February 26, 2019Status: CompletedHurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene, peaking as a Category 3 hurricane, battered Carribean Islands and U.S. states all along the eastern seaboard from South Carolina to Maine on August 21-29, 2011.
Attribution: Water Resources, Floods and Droughts -
Date published: February 25, 2019Status: Completed2011 - The Year of the Flood
2011 proved to be another record-breaking flood year in the United States. USGS Water Science Center personnel from North Dakota to Louisiana measured springtime floods on the Red River of the North, the Ohio River, the Mississippi River, and many tributaries. The Missouri River and its tributaries saw record-breaking snow-melt runoff through the summer, followed closely by Hurricane Irene and...
Attribution: Water Resources, Floods and Droughts -
Date published: February 25, 2019Status: CompletedSpring/Summer 2011 Mississippi River Basin Floods
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the Spring/Summer 2011 floods throughout the Mississippi River Basin.
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Date published: February 25, 2019Status: CompletedMay 2011 Louisiana flood
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the May 2011 flood in Louisiana, including additional real-time monitoring for the Morganza and Bonnet Carre Spillways which were opened to release floodwaters into the Mississippi River.
Attribution: Water Resources, States and Territories -
Date published: February 25, 2019Status: CompletedMay 2011 Memphis, Tennessee Flood
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the May 2011 flood in Memphis, Tennessee, including deploying emergency real-time surface-water stage gages at critical locations in Shelby County.
Attribution: Water Resources, States and Territories -
Date published: February 25, 2019Status: CompletedMay 2011 New Madrid Floodway
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the May 2011 New Madrid Floodway breaches.
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Date published: February 25, 2019Status: CompletedApril 2011 Arkansas Flood
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the April 2011 Arkansas Flood.
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Date published: February 25, 2019Status: CompletedApril 2011 North Dakota Flood
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the April 2011 North Dakota Flood resulting from sudden winter snowmelt due to warmer-than-expected temperatures and rain.
The effects of Missouri River mainstem reservoir system operations on 2011 flooding using a Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System model: Chapter K in 2011 Floods of the Central United States
In 2011 the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System (Reservoir System) experienced the largest volume of flood waters since the initiation of record-keeping in the nineteenth century. The high levels of runoff from both snowpack and rainfall stressed the Reservoir System’s capacity to control flood waters and caused massive damage and disruption...
Haj, Adel E.; Christiansen, Daniel E.; Viger, Roland J.
Repeated multibeam echosounder hydrographic surveys of 15 selected bridge crossings along the Missouri River from Niobrara to Rulo, Nebraska, during the flood of 2011
In 2011, unprecedented flooding in the Missouri River prompted transportation agencies to increase the frequency of monitoring riverbed elevations near bridges that cross the Missouri River. Hydrographic surveys were completed in cooperation with the Nebraska Department of Roads, using a multibeam echosounder at 15 highway bridges spanning the...
Dietsch, Benjamin J.; Densmore, Brenda K.; Strauch, Kellan R.
Geomorphic change on the Missouri River during the flood of 2011: Chapter I in 2011 Floods of the Central United States
The 2011 flood on the Missouri River was one of the largest floods since the river became regulated by a series of high dams in the mid-20th century (greater than 150,000 cubic feet per second during the peak). The flood persisted through most of the summer, eroding river banks, adding sand to sandbars, and moving the thalweg of the channel in...
Schenk, Edward R.; Skalak, Katherine J.; Benthem, Adam J.; Dietsch, Benjamin J.; Woodward, Brenda K.; Wiche, Gregg J.; Galloway, Joel M.; Nustad, Rochelle A.; Hupp, Cliff R.
Geomorphic changes caused by the 2011 flood at selected sites along the lower Missouri River and comparison to historical floods: Chapter H in 2011 floods of the central United States
An analysis of recent and historical U.S. Geological Survey streamgage information was used to assess geomorphic changes caused by the 2011 flood, in comparison to selected historical floods, at three streamgage sites along the lower Missouri River—Sioux City, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; and Kansas City, Missouri. Channel-width change was not evident...
Juracek, Kyle E.
Sediment transport and deposition in the lower Missouri River during the 2011 flood
Floodwater in the Missouri River in 2011 originated in upper-basin regions and tributaries, and then travelled through a series of large flood-control reservoirs, setting records for total runoff volume entering all six Missouri River main-stem reservoirs. The flooding lasted as long as 3 months. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) examined sediment...
Alexander, Jason S.; Jacobson, Robert B.; Rus, David L.
Occurrence and transport of nutrients in the Missouri River Basin, April through September 2011: Chapter G in 2011 floods of the central United States
Heavy snow and early spring rainfall generated substantial amounts of runoff and flooding in the upper part of the Missouri River Basin in 2011. Spring runoff in the upper and middle parts of the basin exceeded the storage capacity of the Missouri River reservoirs and unprecedented amounts of water were released into the lower parts of the basin...
Kalkhoff, Stephen J.
2011 floods of the central United States
The Central United States experienced record-setting flooding during 2011, with floods that extended from headwater streams in the Rocky Mountains, to transboundary rivers in the upper Midwest and Northern Plains, to the deep and wide sand-bedded lower Mississippi River. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of its mission, collected...
Streamflow characterization and summary of water-quality data collection during the Mississippi River flood, April through July 2011
From April through July 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey collected surface-water samples from 69 water-quality stations and 3 flood-control structures in 4 major subbasins of the Mississippi River Basin to characterize the water quality during the 2011 Mississippi River flood. Most stations were sampled at least monthly for field parameters...
Welch, Heather L.; Barnes, Kimberlee K.