Flood, Richland
- When
- April 5, 12:00 AM CST to April 8, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Richland forecast zone
- Property damage
- $50 million
- Coordinates
- 46.265, -96.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in North Dakota, April 5 to 8, 1997
The rising Red River filled parts of Wahpeton with water, which froze in place as the temperature dropped. Floodfighters had to sandbag during the blizzard to try to save parts of the city.
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
- $50 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 filled parts of Wahpeton with water, which froze in place as the temperature dropped. Floodfighters had to sandbag during the blizzard to try to save parts of the city. Many Richland county roads washed out or were closed due to the high water. Record stages were set on the Red River in Wahpeton and on the Wild Rice River at Abercrombie on the 6th.
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
- Blizzard in North Dakota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard in Minnesota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Flash Flood in Arkansas, April 5, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Flood in Minnesota, April 5 to 8, 1997
- Flood in Minnesota, April 5 to 9, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, April 5, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Blizzard in Nebraska, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, April 5, 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: 5591748.