Record Northern Plains Flooding

[Andy Wehrle]

The Red River of the North has crested at a record 40.8 feet at Fargo, ND. The previous record was 112 years old.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=fgf&storyid=23564&source=0

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fgf/?n=floodbrief

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090329/ap_on_re_us/midwest_flooding

I thought I'd open a thread for discussion of the current flood situation in the Red River Valley. It sounds like this event makes the severe flooding experienced in southern Wisconsin late last spring pale by comparison.

 

[John Hudson]

Life in the Red River Valley does get interesting this time of the year. I'm very happy to report that, as of midnight CDT, the dikes surrounding the city of Fargo are still holding. The recent colder temperatures seem to have helped. I sure hope they can hang on down there until the crest passes.

Our city flood forecaster was also concerned about flooding reaching 1997 levels further north along the Red, with dire consequences for Grand Forks. This has also been revised with the arrival of cooler temperatures.

Everyone walks on eggshells up here this time of the year. In Winnipeg, we're very fortunate to have the Red River Floodway protecting the city.

It's still hard for me to imagine that Manitoba Premier Duff Roblin, who spearheaded that project, was ridiculed for wasting taxpayer dollars. Since it was built, the floodway has saved an estimated $ 10 billion in damages to the city.


John
VE4 JTH

 

[MatthewCarman]

There has been alt of flooding here in Iowa aswell. Mostly fields and low lying areas around rivers are being flooded but the nes did show the town of Oakville Iowa was under water again several weeks back. If this continues we may have a repeat of 2008. Most rivers in central Iowa are very high right now. I have heard of flooding also occuring in the Great Lakes and North East regions. I hope this year does not get as bad as last year.

 

[Tyler Burg]

Found this on another forum, getting close to the number two spot on the record!

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Sitting here in GFK, we're well off with the system put in place after the 97 flood. More of an inconvenience than anything else (several bridge closures). Barring any sudden dike fail, it appears Fargo will also survive which is great news. Hopefully the gov will be proactive for a change and help them get $$$ to beef up their dike system.

Most of the hardship has been with smaller communities and individual homesteads. My wife and I helped sandbag a few of her coworkers homes the other day. As they put it, sandbagging once every 12 years ain't that of a deal for the benefits of living in the area. The big question is if these are 100/500 yr type floods, why have we had 3 45+ft crests in the past 12 years? Is this extremely bad luck, bad risk assessment, or risk change (varying climate).

Finally, props out to everyone that lives in the valley. I will say the floods seem to bring out the best in everyone. Unversities cancelled class for a few days so students could help sandbag in both Fargo and Grand Forks. Pretty much overwhelming support all-around which is nice to see these days.