Flood, Benson
- When
- April 21, 12:00 AM CST to April 24, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Benson forecast zone
- Property damage
- $10 million
- Coordinates
- 48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in North Dakota, April 21 to 24, 1997
Snowmelt caused lakes, coulees, and ditches to fill with water, running toward Devils Lake. The 3 coulees running into Devils Lake experienced record flows.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- 1
- Property damage
- $20 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
Snowmelt caused lakes, coulees, and ditches to fill with water, running toward Devils Lake. The 3 coulees running into Devils Lake experienced record flows. 80 percent of the county roads were estimated to be under water at some point. An Edmore woman, driving across a flooded road, ended up in the ditch. She was able to get out of her car and stand on the roof, spending an hour in rapidly moving water until she was rescued. A dam on Hurricane Lake was stressed on the 23rd due to high water, causing some evacuations in Leeds.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Ramsey
- When
- April 21, 12:00 AM CST to April 24, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Ramsey forecast zone
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $10 million
- Coordinates
- 48.269, -98.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Surf in Puerto Rico, April 21, 1997
- Flood in North Dakota, April 21 to 30, 1997
- Flood in Minnesota, April 21 to 30, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Tennessee, April 21 to 30, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Alabama, April 21, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 21 to 22, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, April 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, April 21, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, April 21, 1997
- High Surf in Hawaii, April 21 to 22, 1997
- Hail in South Carolina, April 21, 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: 5591886, 5591887.