Flooding in Minnesota, April 1 to 30, 1997

Late March flooding from the meltdown of the near record to record snowpack continued throughout April. Most of the snowmelt across Big Stone and Traverse counties occurred in early April. Ditches, lakes, creeks, streams, and low-lying areas continued to rise and flood into April. Many sections of county and township roads as well as some highways were inundated, broken up, or washed out. Many culverts were damaged or blown out and some bridges were damaged or washed out by ice chunks and highwater flows. Thus, road closures were extensive with rerouting taking place for almost everyone, especially school buses, mail carriers, farmers, ranchers, etc.. Some of the roads were closed up to several weeks. Some towns experienced flooding such as Dumont, when a dike gave way and 2 feet of water moved down some of the streets. Countless acres of farmland and pastureland were underwater. As a result, many of the crops were not planted or there were significant delays in planting. High groundwater resulted in water in many basements. Also, some farms were surrounded by water and were inaccessable, leaving some people and livestock stranded. In early April, President Clinton declared Big Stone and Traverse counties a federal disaster area. The total damage estimate for the flooding was 5 million.