on moses' command, the waters parted, allowing the israelites to escape. enter karl drews, a software engineer from the national center for atmospheric research. he says at long last, he's discovered a plausible explanation. >> the exciting thing about this research is that there is a scientific basis for this 3,000-year-old story. >> reporter: he used old maps and satellite data to build this computer model which shows that when a strong wind blows out of the east all night long, just like it says in the bible, the water is pushed back, leaving a muddy patch that somebody could walk across. and when the wind dies down, the water rushes back in. >> it showed the body of water lowering in level and splitting around the point of this peninsula, and then dividing on both sides. the crossing is open for four hours. the crossing is three kilometers long and four kilometers wide.