Flood, Pembina
- When
- April 21, 12:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Pembina forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20 million
- Coordinates
- 48.768, -97.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in North Dakota, April 21 to 30, 1997
The rising Red River closed Interstate 29 near Pembina. The city of Drayton was evacuated on the 22nd, but many floodfighters returned and saved most of the city by constructing a plywood dike.
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
- $20 million
- 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 rising Red River closed Interstate 29 near Pembina. The city of Drayton was evacuated on the 22nd, but many floodfighters returned and saved most of the city by constructing a plywood dike. Earthen dikes held in Pembina, although most of the people were also evacuated on the 22nd. One dike did fail on the south side of Pembina, flooding 25 homes. Throughout the county, numerous homes east of Interstate 29 were flooded, including the customs station north of Pembina. The tiny town of Bowesmont and both the Pembina and Drayton airports were under water. At Drayton, the river was estimated to be 20 miles wide. Further north in Pembina, it was reported to be 25 miles wide. New records were set on the Red River at Drayton on the 25th and in Pembina on the 26th. A new record was also set on the Pembina River at Neche on the 22nd.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flooding in North Dakota, April 21 to 24, 1997
- High Surf in Puerto Rico, April 21, 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: 5591889.