Flooding in North Dakota, August 1 to 31, 2001

Name: Flooding in North Dakota, August 1 to 31, 2001
Start: 2001-08-01T00:00
End: 2001-08-31T23:59
Location: North Dakota

August 1 to 31, 2001 · NWS FGF · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

10 feet on August 9th. The lake now covered 129,000 acres and was beginning to flow into Stump Lake at about 20 cfs.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: $50 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 rose to a new record stage of 1448.10 feet on August 9th. The lake now covered 129,000 acres and was beginning to flow into Stump Lake at about 20 cfs. Highway 1 near Stump Lake was close to being flooded. A total of $37.5 million has been spent on highway construction alone this year. Highway 19 was closed at the city of Devils Lake as a new bridge was being constructed. U.S. Highway 2 was partially closed as its grade was being raised and a new bridge was being built over the Mauvais Coulee near Churchs Ferry. Damages continued at the parks around the lake, especially at Grahams Island, Shelvers Grove, and Black Tiger Bay. High water levels flooded basements in the Spirit Lake Nation and Warwick. Much utility work was also being done in addition to the road construction.

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 Jul 31, 7:58 PM CST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 7:58 PM CST, 4 hours 2 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
858 PM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

...FORECAST CONCERNS TONIGHT ARE ONGOING TSTMS AND POTENTIAL
   FLOODING IN MN...

02Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWING TROF/WIND SHIFT ALONG A ROX-CKN-ABR LINE.
ONGOING TSTM ACTIVITY CONTINUES TO BUILD INTO NORTH CENTRAL MN
ASSOCIATED WITH ISALLOBARIC FALL CENTER LIFTING NE INTO ONTARIO.
00Z SOUNDINGS AND SFC DEW POINTS CONTINUE TO SHOW ABUNDANT MOISTURE
EAST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY. THUS...WILL KEEP THOSE AREAS IN
FLASH FLOOD WATCH. AREAS IN ND APPEAR TO BE SAFE FROM ADDITIONAL
HEAVY RAINFALL. THUS...WILL DROP FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ND COUNTIES.
LOW LEVEL CLOUDINESS WORKING DOWN INTO DVL AREA. WILL ADJUST ZONE
WORDING AND MENTION PATCHY FOG FORMATION LATE.

UPDATED ZONES OUT BY 930 PM.

.FGF...SVR TSTM WATCH 848 UNTIL 2 AM FOR ALL MN COUNTIES EXCEPT
       KITTSON...ROSEAU...LAKE OF THE WOODS....MARSHALL AND GRANT.
       FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL MN COUNTIES TONIGHT.

BRAMER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 31, 8:35 PM CST, 3 hours 25 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-010400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
935 PM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

...STATUS ON SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST
CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA...

TORNADO WATCH 646 WHICH WAS ISSUED FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND THE
NORTHERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF MINNESOTA IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 648 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 AM FOR A PORTION
OF NORTHERN MINNESOTA.

TO SUMMARIZE...NO SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE
FOLLOWING NORTH DAKOTA COUNTIES...TOWNER...CAVALIER...PEMBINA...
BENSON...RAMSEY...WALSH...EDDY...NELSON...GRAND FORKS...GRIGGS...
STEELE...TRAILL...BARNES...CASS...RANSOM...SARGENT AND RICHLAND.

IN ADDITION...NO SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE
FOLLOWING MINNESOTA COUNTIES...KITTSON...ROSEAU...LAKE OF THE
WOODS...MARSHALL AND GRANT.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 648 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 AM CDT FOR
THE FOLLOWING MINNESOTA COUNTIES...BELTRAMI...PENNINGTON...RED
LAKE...POLK...CLEARWATER...NORMAN...MAHNOMEN...HUBBARD...CLAY...
BECKER...WILKIN...OTTER TAIL AND WADENA.

BRAMER

Local storm report, Jul 31, 9:55 PM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
1055 PM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0450 PM    EMBDEN                    ND   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   CASS

0454 PM    GRAND FORKS               ND   1 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   GRAND FORKS

0454 PM    GRAND FORKS               ND   1 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   GRAND FORKS                    BRIEF HAIL IN SOUTH GRAND
                                          FORKS

0552 PM    GRAND FORKS               ND   FLOODING
07/31/01   GRAND FORKS                    STREET FLOODING

0552 PM    GRAND FORKS               ND   FLOODING
07/31/01   GRAND FORKS                    STREET FLOODING

0620 PM    GRAND FORKS               ND   FLOODING
07/31/01   GRAND FORKS                    UNDERGROUND PARKING LOTS
                                          FLOODED

0635 PM    4 E PERLEY                MN   60 MPH TSTM GUST
07/31/01   NORMAN                         LARGE BRANCHES DOWN

0700 PM    VIKING                    MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   MARSHALL                       DITCHES OVERFLOWING

0714 PM    1 SW FLAMING              MN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   NORMAN

0715 PM    THIEF RIVER FALLS         MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   PENNINGTON                     STREET FLOODING, NUMEROUS
                                          CARS STALLED

0715 PM    12 SW PONEMAH             MN
07/31/01   BELTRAMI                       WATERSPOUTS ON LOWER RED
                                          LAKE

0720 PM    FERTILE                   MN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   POLK

0735 PM    5 NE GEORGETOWN           MN   WIND DAMAGE
07/31/01   CLAY                           2 INCH DIAMETER BRANCHES
                                          DOWN

0740 PM    BAUDETTE                  MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   LAKE OF THE WOODS              STREETS FLOODED, NO TRAVEL
                                          ADVISED

0745 PM    4 E WILLIAMS              MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   LAKE OF THE WOODS              BASEMENT FLOODING, YARD
                                          UNDERWATER

Local storm report, Jul 31, 10:06 PM CST, 1 hour 54 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
1106 PM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0650 PM    5 W REDBY                 MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   BELTRAMI                       STREET FLOODING IN RED
                                          LAKE

0735 PM    4 SW ERSKINE              MN   .88 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   POLK

0745 PM    4 S OKLEE                 MN   WIND DAMAGE
07/31/01   RED LAKE                       SEVERAL 2 INCH DIAMETER
                                          BRANCHES DOWN

0805 PM    4 NE FOSSTON              MN   .88 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   POLK

0805 PM    4 NE WINGER               MN
07/31/01   POLK                           ROTATING WALL CLOUD

0824 PM    GRACETON                  MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   LAKE OF THE WOODS              COUNTY RD 66 WASHED OUT

0825 PM    4 S ERIE                  MN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   PENNINGTON

0833 PM    2 NE CLEARBROOK           MN   .88 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   CLEARWATER

0845 PM    12 W REDBY                MN   WIND DAMAGE
07/31/01   BELTRAMI                       TREES DOWN ALONG HWY 1

Local storm report, Jul 31, 10:12 PM CST, 1 hour 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
1112 PM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0515 PM    2 W KEY WEST              MN   WIND DAMAGE
07/31/01   POLK                           APPLE TREE SNAPPED IN HALF

0600 PM    EAST GRAND FORKS          MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   POLK                           BASEMENTS FLOODED IN POINT
                                          AREA

0700 PM    CROOKSTON                 MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   POLK                           STREET FLOODING

0702 PM    1 W PLUMMER               MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   RED LAKE                       HWY 1 FLOODED

0715 PM    TERREBONNE                MN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   RED LAKE

0900 PM    1 S GOODRIDGE             MN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   PENNINGTON

0905 PM    PONEMAH                   MN   .88 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   BELTRAMI

1000 PM    1 S THORHULT              MN   FLOODING
07/31/01   BELTRAMI                       DITCHES OVERFLOWING COUNTY
                                          ROADS

Special weather statement, Jul 31, 11:50 PM CST, 10 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-010635-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1250 AM CDT WED AUG 1 2001

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WATCHES THAT WERE IN
EFFECT FOR MUCH OF NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA HAVE BEEN
CANCELLED...

THE LAST OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN AND SEVERE
WEATHER TO PARTS OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA HAVE MOVED EAST OUT OF THE
AREA.  THUS THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH THAT WAS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2
AM FOR THE CITIES OF CROOKSTON...BEMIDJI...FERGUS FALLS...DETROIT
LAKES...THIEF RIVER FALLS...AND PARK RAPIDS HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

DUE TO RUNOFF FROM THE EVENING RAIN...FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS WILL
CONTINUE UNTIL 3 AM FOR NORTHERN CLEARWATER...NORTHERN BELTRAMI AND
LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTIES.

RIDDLE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Ramsey

When: August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Ramsey forecast zone
Property damage: $25 million
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 48.269, -98.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Benson

When: August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Benson forecast zone
Property damage: $20 million
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Nelson

When: August 1, 12:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Nelson forecast zone
Property damage: $5.0 million
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 47.922, -98.192 (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 North Dakota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, August 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: 5264824, 5264825, 5264826.