Rain with isolated thunder developed across southeast North Dakota and west central Minnesota Monday (11th) morning ahead of an approaching cold front from the west. The rain continued into the afternoon and early evening, saturating the ground with two to three inches of rain.
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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.
The episode as NWS FGF wrote it up.
Rain with isolated thunder developed across southeast North Dakota and west central Minnesota Monday (11th) morning ahead of an approaching cold front from the west. The rain continued into the afternoon and early evening, saturating the ground with two to three inches of rain. Another surge of precipitation developed Monday evening over eastern Richland County (ND) and central and northern Wilkin County (MN). This second surge of rain dumped an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain in a mere two to four hours. Flash flooding developed in the cities of Wahpeton (ND) and Breckenridge (MN), as well as several other areas.
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 Aug 11, 7:51 PM CST, 1 hour 9 minutes earlier.
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
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND 307 PM CDT MON AUG 11 2008 MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052>054-121200- WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS- WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-NORTH BELTRAMI-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE- EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-MAHNOMEN- SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN- WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER- PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON- GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT- RICHLAND-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY- 307 PM CDT MON AUG 11 2008 ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR THE DEVILS LAKE REGION AND PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL MIDNIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT...BUT WILL BE MOST NUMEROUS ALONG AND WEST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY TODAY. SOME AREAS FROM FORT RANSOM TO VALLEY CITY TO DEVILS LAKE PICKED UP HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS SUNDAY EVENING...AND ARE ESPECIALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO ADDITIONAL RAINFALL TODAY. THEREFORE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR AREAS JUST WEST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY FOR TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. THE HEAVIEST SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE RED RIVER VALLEY AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA TONIGHT...BUT THESE AREAS HAVE NOT SEEN AS MUCH RAIN RECENTLY. DESPITE THE WIDESPREAD RAINFALL TODAY AND TONIGHT...NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA ON TUESDAY...THEN MOVE MAINLY EAST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. A BRIEF BREAK IN THE WET WEATHER IS EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY...WITH MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE EARLY PART OF THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. GODON/TG
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 144 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:58 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Water was reported to be 2 to 3 feet deep in the streets of Wahpeton with water up on front lawns. 2.75 inches of rain fell in two hours. No travel was advised by city officials.
Several fields and farm access roads were flooded due to runoff from heavy rains in northeast Richland County. The water slowly subsided through the morning of the 12th as runoff moved into the larger river system.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, August 2008
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: 127586, 127591.