Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Summer 2011 Missouri River Basin flood Completed

By Water Resources Mission Area February 25, 2019

Missouri River site map

Wire weight gage measurement

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
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
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.

 

USGS Activities in the News:

Below are other science projects associated with this flood event.

link
Satellite view of Hurricane Sandy

Historical 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 Flood...
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

Historical 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 Flood...
Learn More
link
Tropical Storm Lee

Tropical 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.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

Tropical 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.
Learn More
link
August 2011 Hurricane Irene Flood Event Viewer

Hurricane 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.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

Hurricane 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.
Learn More
link
2011 - the Year of the Flood

2011 - 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...
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

2011 - 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...
Learn More
link
Summer 2011 Mississippi River flood

Spring/Summer 2011 Mississippi River Basin Floods

Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the Spring/Summer 2011 floods throughout the Mississippi River Basin.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

Spring/Summer 2011 Mississippi River Basin Floods

Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the Spring/Summer 2011 floods throughout the Mississippi River Basin.
Learn More
link
Morganza Spillway 2011 USGS flood inundation site map

May 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.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

May 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.
Learn More
link
USGS boat crew prepares for a discharge measurement during May 2011 Memphis, Tennessee flooding

May 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.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

May 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.
Learn More
link
New Madrid Floodway - before and after 2011 breach

May 2011 New Madrid Floodway

Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the May 2011 New Madrid Floodway breaches.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

May 2011 New Madrid Floodway

Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the May 2011 New Madrid Floodway breaches.
Learn More
link
Flood at station 07048600, White River near Fayetteville, Arkansas

April 2011 Arkansas Flood

Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the April 2011 Arkansas Flood.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

April 2011 Arkansas Flood

Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the April 2011 Arkansas Flood.
Learn More
link
April 2011 North Dakota flood

April 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.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
link

April 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.
Learn More

Below are publications associated with this flood event.

The effects of Missouri River mainstem reservoir system operations on 2011 flooding using a Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System model

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 along the river. The flooding and resulting damage
Authors
Adel E. Haj, Daniel E. Christiansen, Roland J. Viger
By
Water Resources Mission Area

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 Missouri River from Niobrara to Rulo, Nebraska during
Authors
Benjamin J. Dietsch, Brenda K. Densmore, Kellan R. Strauch
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Nebraska Water Science Center

Geomorphic change on the Missouri River during the flood of 2011

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 many places. The U.S. Geological Survey monitored and
Authors
Edward R. Schenk, Katherine J. Skalak, Adam J. Benthem, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Brenda K. Woodward, Gregg J. Wiche, Joel M. Galloway, Rochelle A. Nustad, Cliff R. Hupp
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Geomorphic changes caused by the 2011 flood at selected sites along the lower Missouri River and comparison to historical floods

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 at the three streamgage sites following the 2011 flo
Authors
Kyle E. Juracek
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Kansas Water Science Center

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 transport and deposition in the lower Missouri Rive
Authors
Jason S. Alexander, Robert B. Jacobson, David L. Rus
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Columbia Environmental Research Center

Occurrence and transport of nutrients in the Missouri River Basin, April through September 2011

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 resulting in record floods from June through Septemb
Authors
Stephen J. Kalkhoff
By
Water Resources Mission Area

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 extensive information during and in the aftermath of the 20
Authors
By
Water Resources Mission Area

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 suspended sediment, nutrients, and selected pesticides. S
Authors
Heather L. Welch, Kimberlee K. Barnes
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Below are partners associated with this flood event.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

NOAA National Weather Service (NWS)

Ready.gov