Hurricane Ida overtakes the Mighty Mississippi, forcing it to flow backwards

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - It seems the Mississippi River was no match for Hurricane Ida, with the Category 4 storm at one point causing the river to reverse course.

According to USA Today, a U.S. Geological Survey gauge near New Orleans detected the Mississippi River’s flow moving backwards Sunday.

“U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Ricky Boyette confirmed engineers detected a ‘negative flow’ on the Mississippi River as a result of storm surge,” USA Today wrote.

President Biden also remarked on the phenomena, saying Monday, “At one point, Ida literally changed the direction of the Mississippi River.”

Scott Perrien, a supervising hydrologist with the USGS Lower Mississippi Gulf Water Science Center in Louisiana, told CNN that while this also occurred during Hurricane Katrina, it is “extremely uncommon.”

At its strongest, Hurricane Ida’s winds reached 150 mph, tying for the fifth-strongest hurricane to hit the U.S.