Flood in Minnesota, April 7 to 26, 2001

Name: Flood in Minnesota, April 7 to 26, 2001
Start: 2001-04-07T00:01
End: 2001-04-26T23:59
Location: Minnesota

April 7 to 26, 2001 · NWS FGF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

3 inches of snow to the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks area, which is slightly 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $2.0 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 45.3 inches of snow to the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks area, which is slightly above the average of 40 inches. Snow water contents across Polk county ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 inches. The snow over Polk county had melted by the 1st of April, and the snowmelt began to affect the rivers. Then, a heavy rain event occurred on the 7th, and brought 1 to 2 inches of rain to the Red River basin. The Red Lake River rose quickly after this rain event. In Crookston, an ice jam developed in Hewitt Park on the night of the 9th, rocketing the Red Lake River to 26.38 feet. At its peak rate of rise, the Red Lake River jumped nearly 8 feet in 6 hours. 60 National Guard troops were activated in Crookston and they helped evacuate several homes. The entire city waited for a possible evacuation order as they watched the river rise. U.S. Highway 2 had to be diverted, as the rising river closed the underpass in town. When the ice jam broke, the river quickly fell. As this water and other runoff made its way into the Red River, the level at East Grand Forks peaked on April 12th at 44.80 feet. This 44.80 foot level was not in the top ten stage heights. Another rain event further south on the 11th and 12th, and a winter storm on the 22nd and 23rd helped hold up the level on the Red River at East Grand Forks through most of the month. East Grand Forks erected their new "invisible" flood wall for the first time. This closed Demers avenue in East Grand Forks. The point bridge was also closed between Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, due to high water from the Red River. Sunshine Terrace and its 48 occupants were temporarily evacuated, as the building now sits on the wrong side of the dike.

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 6, 7:23 PM CST, 4 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 6, 7:23 PM CST, 4 hours 38 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
823 PM CDT FRI APR 6 2001

...CHALLENGE FOR OVERNIGHT WILL BE ONSET OF RAIN...

SFC LOW IS NOW STARTING TO UNDERGO CYCLOGENESIS JUST NORTH OF GLD IN
KANSAS...WITH BEST PRESSURE FALL RIBBON EXTENDING NORTHEAST FROM
HERE TO JUST SOUTH OF ATY. GLANCE AT NEW 00Z 850MB UPPER AIR ALREADY
SHOWS +15C DEWPOINT IN OMAHA...WITH PROFILER NETWORK SHOWING SOUTH
50-60KT 850MB WINDS NOSING INTO SOUTHERN NB. A LOOK AT THE 23Z RUC
INDICATES THAT STRONG MID LEVEL WARM AIR ADVECTION WILL ENCOMPASS
SOUTHERN 2/3 OF FA BY 09Z. IN ADDITION...STRONG VORTICITY MAXIMUM AT
500MB WILL LIFT INTO SOUTHERN ZONES AFTER 06Z...WITH TREMENDOUS
DIFFLUENCE ALOFT DEVELOPING. THIS WILL AID IN RAPID CYCLOGENESIS...AS
LOW TRACKS INTO EASTERN SD BY MORNING. ELEVATED CONVECTIVE
PARAMETERS ALSO LOOK GOOD TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY IN
SOUTHERN ZONES. ANY CONVECTION COULD DROP HEAVY RAIN IN A SHORT
PERIOD OF TIME. CAN/T RULE OUT THUNDER BEING HEARD EVEN IN NORTHERN
FA...WITH 60KT EASTERLY 850 FLOW DEVELOPING AFTER 09Z WHICH WILL
TRANSPORT TREMENDOUS MOISTURE INTO ALL AREAS. DON/T THINK CONVECTION
NOW ONGOING WILL ROB TOO MUCH MOISTURE...WITH TREMENDOUS LOW LEVEL
JET TRANSPORTING MOISTURE RAPIDLY NORTHWARD. ONSET OF HEAVIER PRECIP
WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT TO THE NORTH...AND SOONER FURTHER
SOUTH. PRESSURE GRADIENT ALSO TIGHTENS CONSIDERABLY BY 12Z...SO WIND
ADVISORY LATE TONIGHT LOOKS GOOD. FEEL BEST POTENTIAL FOR FLASH
FLOODING WILL BE IN EXTREME SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...AND ADJACENT
WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. FEEL SOME THUNDERSTORMS LATER TONIGHT MAY
EVEN APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS IN EXTREME SOUTH...BUT BEST INSTABILITY
REMAINS SOUTH OF FA. WILL NOT DEVIATE FROM CURRENT FLOOD WATCH
THOUGH...WITH POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT RUN OFF NORTH OF HERE AS WELL.

ANTICIPATE LITTLE CHANGE TO CURRENT ZONES...WITH ONLY COSMETIC
CHANGES NEEDED. WILL ALSO BE FRESHENING UP FLASH FLOOD WATCH AFTER
LOOKING AT NEW MODEL GUIDANCE.

NEW ZONES TO BE ISSUED BY 9 PM.

.FGF...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ALL BUT DVL REGION TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.
       WIND ADVISORY LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY ERN ND AND RED RIVER
       VALLEY OF MN.

KELLENBENZ

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, West Polk

When: April 7, 12:01 AM CST to April 26, 11:59 PM CST
Where: West Polk forecast zone
Property damage: $2.0 million
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.774, -96.402 (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

Every storm in Minnesota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5238746.