Flood Watch

If there was one thing that nobody in the Grand Forks area wanted to happen this spring, it would have been to have a quick snowmelt followed by a large quantity of rain. When both of these events occur in tandem, the Red River of the North tends to flood. Now, granted, the Red River floods to some extent every spring just because that how nature operates, but the worst floods usually occur when the spring thaw progresses rapidly and is accompanied by spring downpours. Having a lot of the winter snowfall on the ground in March doesn’t make matters any better, either.

Unfortunately for the many communities situated along the Red River, nature unleashed pretty much everything it could to ensure that the flood of 2006 would be one of the worst. Unlike many other places in Minnesota, the areas around Grand Forks, Fargo, and Pembina got quite a bit of snow during the winter – more than would be expected during a typical winter. In addition, the majority of the snow that fell remained on the ground during January, despite that fact that this past January was the warmest ever for both North Dakota and Minnesota. The wealth of snow was combined with a colder than average March, which then contributed to most of the Red River valley retaining its snow cover for much later in March than would be ordinarily expected. In fact, there was at least one inch of snow covering the ground here in Grand Forks until about last Thursday, the 30th. The Grand Forks Herald reported that the area had become some 2 weeks behind in its snowmelt; barring any major snowstorms in the middle of March, all of the snow would have ordinarily molten by about the first day of spring.

Last Thursday, however, an early “April shower” came to the area and not only dumped over an inch of rain in some spots, but sped up the melting process that had already been intensified by the previous day’s high temperatures near 50°F. The Red River and the many smaller rivers and creeks that flow into it immediately became overwhelmed with all the water and started to flood.

So that’s where the area is at now. Based on the National Weather Service’s crest predictions as well as what is happening in the southern – and therefore downstream, since the water flows north – part of the Red River Valley near Breckenridge, MN and Wahpeton, ND, the flood of 2006 will no doubt go down as one of 10 worst to ever occur since records began. Fortunately, there is a less of a chance that the flood will be as destructive at the infamous flood of 1997 that decimated many cities throughout the valley.

As with all of the other cities in the area, Grand Forks has a listing of what will happen when the water in the river reaches specific points. There’s a lot of Grand Forks jargon on the list, but I thought I would post it anyway just so that you can see how the flood is currently affecting the city.

60.0 Top of levee constructed by Corps of Engineers for City of Grand Forks.
54.4 Record flood level. 22 April 1997...from floodmarks.
53.0 TOP OF RAILS ON Burlington northern santa fe Rail Road BRIDGE OVER THE RED RIVER.
50.1 WATER ON GATEWAY DRIVE AT THE KENNEDY BRIDGE.
50.0 RAILROAD BRIDGES BECOME INOPERATIVE.
49.9 TOP ELEVATION OF public law 99 EMERGENCY DIKE IN EAST GRAND FORKS.
48.7 WATER ON DEMERS AVE AT THE SORLIE BRIDGE.
48.0 TOP ELEVATION OF public law 99 DIKE IN RIVERSIDE PARK AREA.
46.0 Major Flood Stage. Begin road closure on Sorlie Bridge...DeMers Av.
45.0 Begin road closure to Riverside Park. WATER ON MILL ROAD AT THE ENGLISH COULEE.
44.9 AGRICULTURAL DAMAGE BEGINS AT RIVER MILE 271-296. WATER ON EAST GRAND FORKS APPROACH TO POINT BRIDGE.
43.7 CLOSE MILL ROAD AT ENGLISH COULEE BRIDGE.
42.2 WATER ON LEWIS BLVD AT THE KENNEDY BRIDGE.
42.0 Begin road closure to Riverside Park.
41.0 Close flood gates on English Coulee and activate pump station.
40.0 Moderate Flood Stage. Extensive flooding in greenway for Grand Forks.
38.0 Begin closing flood gates in Grand Forks and activate strom water pumping stations.
34.0 East Grand Forks Water problems at HWY 2 around 4th St underpass.
33.0 Agricultural Flooding between Oslo and Grand Forks. AGRICULTURAL DAMAGE BEGINS AT RIVER MILE 271 - 296.
28.0 Flood Warning Stage...minor. Bankfull Stage.
27.0 Forecast Service Stage.

Per The National Weather Service, the water level of the Red River at Grand Forks is currently 46.03 feet – past the point at which “major flooding” occurs. The river is predicted to crest at 47 feet on Thursday morning, which would be the 6th highest crest in Grand Forks’ history, right between those of 1882 and 1996. As far as property is concerned, everything in the immediate Grand Forks and East Grand Forks vicinity should be safe – the levees constructed in the wake of the 1997 will protect Grand Forks up to 60 feet and East Grand Forks up to 50 feet without any added sandbags. Not all places will be as lucky, however, since there are a lot of houses in very precarious positions as islands onto themselves down in the Fargo area.

I plan on heading toward downtown – about a mile and a half from campus – tomorrow afternoon. I’ll play the role of journalist, trying to take as many pictures as possible. I don’t know exactly what I’ll be able to see, but I will be sure to share anything interesting.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures – one I took, the rest I didn’t:

This is a picture I took at the downtown park next to the river in Grand Forks. I've highlighted what is approximately 47 feet, the level that the river is expected to crest at on Thursday. The bridge in the background already has water up to the bottom of it and has been closed to traffic.


From the Fargo Forum,
Adam Berthelot, 6, of Fargo looks on Saturday as Vince Luchau, 15, left, and Brady Kemmer, 15, fish the Red River from Elm Street in north Fargo. Flood waters forced the city to close the road. ©Darren Gibbins / The Forum


From the Fargo Forum,
This photo taken Saturday south of Ada looks northwest along Minnesota Highway 9 and the bridge in the treeline of the flooding Wild Rice River. ©Rod Syverson / Special to The Forum


From the Fargo Forum,
Floodwaers from the Red River rush over closed Wall Street, between north Moorhead and Oakport Township Monday, April 3, 2006. ©Bruce Crummy / The Forum


From a Fargo Forum reader,
Ryan and Gregg Hanson boat across an underwater township road near the James Hanson Farm near Hickson, ND. Roads leading to the Hanson farm are under water requiring the use of a boat.


From a Fargo Forum reader,
This picture was taken yesterday, 04/02, south of Horace and just a little south of 46. We saw this herd of 14 deer crossing a flooded field. They were pretty tired once they found 'dry' land.


From the Grand Forks Herald,
Sightseers in downtown Grand Forks checkout the marker that notes historic flood levels Monday afternoon. The marker is on the west bank of the Red River and shows the flood level approaching the 1996 crest. Later Monday night, the Red River surpassed the 1996 crest level. ©John Stennes


From the Grand Forks Herald,
The Kennedy Bridge over the Red River between Grand Forks (top) and East Grand Forks (bottom) is the only bridge open Monday after the other two bridges between the two towns were closed because of high water and flood preparations. ©John Stennes