VIDEO: Melting Ice on Yellowstone River Means Huge Slabs of Ice Running Aground

From giant volcanoes to the occasional tornado, from six-foot drifts of snow to raging wildfires, Montana's got just about every kind of scary weather, natural disaster, and adverse condition you can imagine. But here's one you may not have seen before - giant ice floes crashing and running aground. 

Filmed in the spring of 2018, the video shows the Yellowstone River as the surface ice begins to crack and move. The man who filmed this video went to the Bonfield Fishing Access site, in his own words, to see if "the ice went out." It was a warmer day near the end of March, and the water was definitely beginning to move.  

The man is surprised by what he finds. "There ain't nothin' stoppin' her now," he says. "She's going."

Then, when he sees that the blocks of ice are probably going to damage the picnic table adjacent to the river, he quips, "the taxpayers will be buying a new picnic table, probably."  

The footage is really pretty spectacular, showing the water displacement as massive slabs of ice crowd down the channel.  Even during the time he's standing there, the man can see the water rising up the banks as snowmelt pours into the river from the mountains and huge chunks of ice are swept downstream. 

Then, incredibly, the water rises so much that it's getting pretty close to where he's standing.  "Damn that's awesome," he says before deciding maybe he'd better get in the truck before the whole of Montana is swept away with the ice.   Then, after relocating to a higher vantage point, he continues to film. 

Now that's some awe-inspiring footage.  Montana always surprises.