A video of a giant vortex in Lake Texoma created when a spillway was opened to release overflowing flood water has scared more than 830,000 YouTube viewers who no doubt wondered what it would be like to be caught in the whirlpool.
The vortex, strong enough to swallow a full-size boat, was captured on video by Edward N. Johnson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Tulsa District and shows the eight-foot vortex spiraling in the lake. Boaters were cautioned to follow posted warning signs.
The draining of Lake Texoma is a regular occurrence when lake officials open the flood control gates at the Denison Dam,
reported KDFW-TV in Dallas.
Lake Texoma sits on the Red River, the border between Texas and Oklahoma, north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Brannen Parrish, spokesman for the Tulsa District, told the
Dallas Morning News he was surprised by all the attention the video has been getting. He said office managers have done "countless interviews" in the last couple of days about the viral video.
"It's really weird," said Parrish. "But it's a not-unusual occurrence when we have high flood waters and we're releasing. We don't have those all the time. Think of like the suction of a bathtub when it's draining water."
Parrish said that along with the warning signs for boaters, the reservoir's workers have placed buoys around the vortex area so "no one can get close."
Lake Texoma is the 12th largest lake in the country. The Denison Dam was built in 1944 during World War II, according to the
Lake Texoma Guide. The dam at one time was the largest earth-filled dam and was created by bulldozing dirt into an enormous embankment.
Texas and Oklahoma sustained record rainfall in May, which broke records as one off the wettest Mays on record,
according to the Weather Channel. Forecasters are predicting drier weather for the states this summer and that is expected to lower water levels along the Red River and other waterways in Texas and Oklahoma.