Flood, Benson
- When
- July 23, 12:00 AM CST
- Where
- Benson forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2.0 million
- Crop damage
- $2.0 million
- Coordinates
- 48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in North Dakota, July 23, 1997
8 feet MSL, continuing its record high levels. High water continued to close portions of Highways 57 and 20 south of the city of Devils Lake.
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
- 0
- Property damage
- $4.0 million
- Crop damage
- $4.0 million
- 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.
Devils Lake reached an elevation of 1442.8 feet MSL, continuing its record high levels. High water continued to close portions of Highways 57 and 20 south of the city of Devils Lake. Forestry officials estimated that 900,000 trees had been killed in the past 5 years due to high water levels, 200,000 of those trees just in the past 2 years. Homes and businesses close to the rising lake were moved to higher ground.
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
- July 23, 12:00 AM CST
- Where
- Ramsey forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2.0 million
- Crop damage
- $2.0 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
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, July 23, 1997
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, July 23 to 27, 1997
- Flash Flood in Colorado, July 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Arkansas, July 23, 1997
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in South Carolina, July 23 to 24, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 23, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 23 to 27, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, July 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, July 23, 1997
- Flash Flooding in West Virginia, July 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, July 23, 1997
More
Every storm in North Dakota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, July 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: 5606918, 5606919.