Flood, Cass
- When
- April 6, 12:01 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Cass forecast zone
- Property damage
- $4.0 million
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.933, -97.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in North Dakota, April 6 to 30, 2001
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $4.0 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 Cass 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 Maple, Rush, Sheyenne, and Red Rivers high for nearly the whole month. The flooding caused heavy damage to the roads, streets, and bridges in Cass county. The West Fargo Diversion channel was opened on April 4th, reaching a crest of 22.13 feet on the 11th. This was the second highest crest in the diversion's short life span. The area north of West Fargo to Harwood turned into a big lake once again, surrounding many homes with water. One link to Moorhead was closed due to high water, which was the 1st Avenue North bridge. One section of temporary dike failed along the Red River in Fargo, flooding the El Zagal Golf Course. Another temporary dike was built along 64th Avenue South in Fargo, to prevent the overland flooding that caused major havoc to Fargo during the record flood of 1997. The West Fargo Airport was temporarily closed when water rose over its runway.
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.
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
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, April 6, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, April 6, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, April 6, 2001
- High Wind in New Mexico, April 6, 2001
- Rip Current in Florida, April 6, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, April 6, 2001
- Flood in Minnesota, April 6 to 30, 2001
- Flood in North Dakota, April 6 to 30, 2001
- Flood in Minnesota, April 6 to 30, 2001
- Flood in Minnesota, April 6 to 27, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, April 6, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Texas, April 6, 2001
More
Every storm in North Dakota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, 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: 5238750.