Flash Flood, Cass
- When
- April 17, 5:00 PM CST to 5:30 PM CST
- Where
- Cass County, Fargo
- Coordinates
- 46.933, -97.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in North Dakota, April 17, 1997
The Red River broke through a dike along South Terrace Drive in Fargo, flooding 30 homes and the Oak Grove High School. 270 students and their teachers and parents had sandbagged at the high school for three weeks to try to save the school.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS FGF wrote it up.
The Red River broke through a dike along South Terrace Drive in Fargo, flooding 30 homes and the Oak Grove High School. 270 students and their teachers and parents had sandbagged at the high school for three weeks to try to save the school.
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:58 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flood in Minnesota, April 17 to 23, 1997
- Flood in North Dakota, April 17 to 21, 1997
- Flood in Minnesota, April 17 to 21, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in North Carolina, April 17 to 21, 1997
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, April 17 to 18, 1997
- High Wind in Alaska, April 17, 1997
- High Wind in Montana, April 17, 1997
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, April 17 to 18, 1997
- High Wind in Montana, April 17, 1997
More
Every storm in North Dakota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, April 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5624132.