Weekend rains flood Tensleep, Shell creeks

TEN SLEEP – An abundance of overnight rain on Sunday caused at least three creeks in the Big Horn Basin to flood their banks, and emergency crews to be mobilized.

In Ten Sleep, the Tensleep Creek crested overnight Sunday, after a flood warning was issued for the weekend due to high mountain rain.

Law enforcement and county emergency services were called to the scene of at least one Ten Sleep property in jeopardy of flooding, and water was diverted using sand bags provided by the county.

As of Tuesday, Tensleep Creek had receded to normal levels and all alerts were cancelled. At 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Riverton reported that the creek was at 3.5 feet, with a flood stage of 4.5 feet.

In Big Horn County, volunteers were mobilized by the Greybull Fire Department after flooding of Shell Creek caused some property to flood. Sand bags were used to mitigate the damage and divert the water away from low-lying property.

“Monday morning was the most intense,” noted Big Horn County Emergency Management Director LaRae Dobbs. All flood warnings for Shell Creek were lifted on Monday. Dobbs noted that Shell Creek is still under observation, with some minor rain expected this week.

As of Tuesday, Shell Creek had receded to 4.3 feet, with a flood stage of 6.5 feet.

Medicine Lodge Creek near Hyattville saw some minor flooding, with reports from Medicine Lodge State Park that the creek had been diverted by some 60 feet from its original position. As of Tuesday, the creek had receded to 1.15 feet, with a flood stage of 3.5 feet.

By comparison, the Big Horn River at Worland was reading 6.44 feet with a flood stage of 10.5 feet, the Nowood River at Manderson was reading 5.5 feet with a flood stage of 8.5 feet, and the Big Horn River at Greybull was 87.3 feet with a flood stage of 92 feet.

On Tuesday, the state parks department reported rising water from the Tongue River in northern Wyoming had flooded the Connor Battlefield Campground in Ranchester resulting in the facility’s closure. No other Wyoming State Park or Historic Site reported flooding at this time.

The NWS forecast calls for a 20 percent chance of continued thunder showers through today, with highs in the mid-80s for the rest of the week.