Wabash Valley: Experiencing change from floods to drought in 16 months

WABASH VALLEY, Ind. (WTHI) - With this year’s drought on the minds of just about everyone, it’s hard to believe just 16 months ago, much of the area was underwater.

So, News 10’s Kevin Orpurt wanted to see what this drought looked like, compared to the flooded lands in 2011. 

The Wabash River in April 2011 was flooded to massive proportions, compared to how it looks now.

In 2011, it was hard to tell where the river ended and the fields began: everything was underwater.

One of the awesome, but devastating features from the flooding was the formation of Ox Bows, which are newly formed water flow paths created by excess water and strong currents cutting new channels in the land.

The remnants of those old river paths are especially evident now with the severe lack of rain and low river levels.

The Red Skelton Bridge in Vincennes was surrounded by water, but is now towering over the lazy, low-leveled Wabash.

The area of the White River was miles across then; however, today, it looks like a small creek.

In 2012, at some locations, the river is rendered to the equivalent of a mere stream.

To compare overall conditions in just a 16-month-period shows just how fickle our Wabash Valley Weather can be.