Dangerous Swirling Vortex Opens Up On Lake Texoma

A giant 8-foot-wide swirling vortex, capable of swallowing a boat, has opened up on Lake Texoma. 

The aquatic tornado was formed after U.S. Army Corps pulled the plug from the over-flowing lake, which is located on the border of Texas and Oklahoma.

Grindtv.com reports:

The result was this scary whirlpool “capable of sucking in a full-sized boat,” according to the Army Corps. At least when the swirling vortex is at full bore. The opening is closer to 2 1/2 to 3 feet nowadays, Business Insider reported.

GeoBeats News has the USACE video and explains it perfectly:

Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the U.S., formed by the Denison Dam on the Red River. When water levels get too high, as they have recently with all the flooding, the Army Corps opens the floodgates at the bottom of the lake and drains off the excess into the river.

“Just like in your house when you fill a bathtub full of water and [open] the drain, it will develop a vortex or whirlpool,” BJ Parkey, assistant lake manager at Lake Texoma, told Business Insider.

The entire area, marked with buoys and warning signs, was closed to avert any disasters.