Today at Fargo, North Dakota, the Red River water levels rose to 39.2 feet. The rivers flood stage is 18 feet. The river may reach 41 feet on March 28th according to the National Weather Service. This would exceed the April 1897 record (40.10 ft) by almost a foot and flood levels from the April 1997 (39.57 ft) flood by more than a foot.
Conditions on the Red River at Fargo are growing increasingly dangerous. Record flows upstream of Fargo have produced unprecedented conditions on the Red River. As a result, the river is expected to behave in ways never previously observed. The crest forecast at Fargo is now expected to be between 41-42 feet by Saturday and could potentially be as high as 43 feet and last for 3-7 days. Another significant storm expected to arrive on Monday could make matters even worse.
The 1997 floods forced tens of thousands of people to flee homes in North Dakota, Minnesota and southern Canada in one of the costliest and largest flood evacuations in U.S. history before Hurricane Katrina. The disaster killed 11 people in the Dakotas and Minnesota and caused an estimated $4.1 billion in damage.
Twitter
Facebook