As snow loosens its grip in the mountainous parts of the West, the meltwater has started the landslide season near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. 

U.S. Route 14/16/20 was reduced to one lane by such a slide this week. The slip occurred 2 to 3 miles east of Yellowstone’s East Gate at 9:21 p.m. Tuesday near the Pahaska Tepee lodge in Cody, Wyoming.

The slide was caused by “runoff, rainfall this week and heavy, wet soils and gravity,” Wyoming Department of Transportation spokesman Cody Beers told Cowboy State Daily.

The sliding earth carried away one car and closed off an access road to cabins, park officials told KTVQ, a CBS affiliate in Billings, Montana.

By 7:06 a.m. Wednesday, crews with the Wyoming Department of Transportation were able to clear a single lane for traffic. No updates as to the other lanes on the highway have been made by officials.

The freeze-thaw cycle this time of year, where temperatures are below freezing at night but above freezing by day, exacerbates erosion, rockfalls and landslides. The East Gate is a particular trouble spot; its man-made road was carved through a canyon.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.