Minnesota, 2001

Flood in Minnesota, April 6 to 30, 2001

April 6 to 30, 2001 · NWS FGF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

5 inches of snow to the Fargo-Moorhead area, which was above the average of 40 inches. 5 inches.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$3.0 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 winter brought 52.5 inches of snow to the Fargo-Moorhead area, which was above the average of 40 inches. The snow water content over Clay county ranged from 2.5 to 3.5 inches. A heavy rain event on April 7th brought a widespread swath of 1 to 2 inches of rain to the Red River basin. This rain event, along with the snowmelt runoff, contributed to the crest of 36.69 feet in Fargo on the 14th of April. This was the 4th highest crest ever at Fargo. Another rain event on the 11th and 12th, and a winter storm that brought 7.9 inches of snow on the 22nd and 23rd, helped keep the Buffalo and Red Rivers high for nearly the whole month. Problems developed around Oakport Township in north Moorhead, where the Red River made islands once again out of the neighborhood homes. The US Army Corps of Engineers had to cut 2 sections of road to alleviate the flooding there. Many roads and bridges had to be closed along the river. A main link to Fargo, the 1st Avenue North bridge, closed due to the high water. The Buffalo River at Hawley and Dilworth stayed above the moderate flood level from April 6th to 17th. This high level forced the diversion of US Highway 10 in Hawley.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 5, 7:35 PM CST, 4 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 7:35 PM CST, 4 hours 26 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
835 PM CDT THU APR 5 2001

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW...
01Z MSAS ANALYSIS DEPICTED WEAK BUBBLE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE
NORTHERN PLAINS WITH WEAK AND DIFFUSE SURFACE WIND FIELD. LATEST
11U-3.9U SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATED BACK EDGE OF CLOUD BAND ALONG
A BAUDETTE TO FARGO LINE WITH GENERAL MOVEMENT TO THE EAST.

.FORECAST DETAILS...
APPEARS CONDITIONS BECOMING PRIME FOR FOG DEVELOPMENT LATER TONIGHT.
PLAN ON ONLY MAKING COSMETIC CHANGES TO INHERITED ZONE PACKAGE TO
ADDRESS SKY COVER TRENDS.

.FGF...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ENTIRE FA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY.

BERG

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Clay

When
April 6, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Property damage
$3.0 million
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
46.892, -96.491 (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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, April 2001

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: 5238666.