Lake Texoma vortex
According to reports, a giant swirling vortex is draining the lake.
The Army Corps of Engineers took steps recently to lower water levels on the Texas-Oklahoma border reservoir, reports the Daily Mail.
Lake Texoma reached historic levels after record-breaking rains saturated the region in the past weeks and caused flooding and destruction.
When authorities lowered water levels by opening floodgates, the massive vortex formed.
“Just like in your house, when you fill a bathtub full of water and [open] the drain, it will develop a vortex or whirlpool,” assistant lake manager BJ Parkey told Business Insider.
When drainage began, the vortex was initially 8 feet wide and powerful enough to suck in a full size boat, prompting officials to post warning signs and buoys, lake manager Joe Custer told KXII-TV.
In the video above, taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District, the hole spins counter clockwise as water floods into the Denison Dam spillway. The corps says a vortex like this is common when flood control gates are used.
At the start of this month, Lake Texoma reached a record-breaking height of almost 646ft (197metres) above sea level.
Authorities plan to keep the floodgates open, and estimate the lake will reach normal levels by the end of July.
A giant VORTEX has appeared in Lake Texoma – and it’s big enough to swallow a BOAT
