The winter of 2010-2011 generally brought above normal amounts of snow to the area, but particularly so for portions of the central and southern Red River Valley. By April 1st, snow water equivalents were estimated to be about four to six inches in these areas with about two to four inches elsewhere.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The winter of 2010-2011 generally brought above normal amounts of snow to the area, but particularly so for portions of the central and southern Red River Valley. By April 1st, snow water equivalents were estimated to be about four to six inches in these areas with about two to four inches elsewhere. A see-saw pattern of temperatures led to a generally slow April snowmelt. At Fargo, the first six days of April averaged near normal for temperatures. The next six days averaged above normal, which led to some snowmelt. From the 13th through the 23rd temperatures swung back below normal along with several days with additional snow. At Grand Forks, the temperatures ranged a bit different than at Fargo. The first 12 days of the month were above normal, then the 13th through the 22nd were below normal. The snow disappeared first in the northern Red River Valley, while it took longer to melt in the other areas. Overland flooding was particularly bad over portions of Clay County. Hundreds of roads across the area were closed due to overland flooding.
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 3, 2:03 PM CST, 0 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND 303 PM CDT SUN APR 3 2011 .SHORT TERM... STORM EVENT WINDING DOWN FOR THE MOST PART BUT PARTS OF IT WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT THE LOCAL AREA TONIGHT. AS FAR AS MODELS DO NOT HAVE A PREFERENCE SO WILL TRY TO STAY PRETTY CLOSE TO FORECAST CONTINUITY. TONIGHT...THERE WAS SOME LIGHT SNOW INTO MID MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON IN THE FAR NORTHWEST FA AND ALSO IN THE NORTHEAST FA. HOWEVER WEB CAMS INDICATE THAT THIS WAS MOSTLY A SLUSHY INCH OR TWO. AS TEMPERATURES HAVE RISEN A COUPLE OF DEGREES IN THESE AREAS IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE THE SNOW IS MELTING OFF THE ROADS THERE. THE MAIN 500MB WAVE HAS YET TO MOVE THRU WHICH IS LIKELY HELPING FUEL THE LAST SNOW BAND OUT OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL ND. THIS BAND SHOULD MOVE THRU THE FA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AS IT MOVES THRU IT SHOULD DROP JUST A LITTLE LIGHT SNOW IN AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 94. IT MAY ALSO START OUT AS A RAIN/SNOW MIX BUT TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO FALL THIS EVENING HELPING TO CHANGE IT OVER TO ALL SLUSHY SNOW. THE BIGGER STORY TONIGHT WILL PROBABLY BE WINDS. AS THE SYSTEM PULLS OFF TO THE EAST WINDS WILL BECOME NORTH AND INCREASE TO 25 TO 35 MPH. IF ROADS HAVE NOT COMPLETED MELTED OFF BY THEN THE FALLING TEMPS/WIND COULD RESULT IN SLIPPERY ROADS BY MORNING. MON-WED...NOT REALLY LOOKING LIKE MUCH PCPN WISE INTO MID WEEK. THE SYSTEM THAT SHOWED UP ON MOST MODELS FOR TUE NIGHT AND WED HAS REALLY COLLAPSED. COULD STILL BE A LITTLE LIGHT PCPN AROUND BUT OVERALL IT LOOKS MUCH WEAKER. THE MAIN STORY WILL BE CLOUD TRENDS AND TEMPS. AT THIS POINT AM THINKING A CLOUDIER SOLUTION MAY BE THE WAY TO GO. WITH MORE CLOUDS AM NOT SURE HOW WARM TEMPS WILL BE ABLE TO GET DURING THE DAYS. FOR NOW STUCK PRETTY CLOSE TO FORECAST CONTINUITY. HOWEVER LOW LEVEL WIND FLOW LOOKS PRETTY WEAK AND IF IT DOES NOT STAY CLOUDY THERE COULD BE SOME FOG DUE TO THE MELTING. A LOT OF TIMES THE FOG LIFTS INTO LOW STRATUS DURING THE DAY. SO AS ALWAYS TEMPS WILL BE A CHALLENGE. .LONG TERM (WED NIGHT-SUN)...MODELS ALL AGREE THAT UPPER ZONAL FLOW TO BEGIN THE PERIOD WILL BECOME MORE SOUTHWEST BY THE WEEKEND AS WEST COAST TROUGH DEVELOPS. THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR MORE ACTIVE WEATHER. HOW INDIVIDUAL WAVES EJECT INTO THE REGION FROM THIS UPPER TROUGH REMAINS HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE. WILL KEEP THE LOW END POPS FOR THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY NIGHT AS EACH MODEL SHOWS A WAVE NEAR THE REGION DURING THIS TIME. EXPECT P-TYPE TO BE MOSTLY LIQUID. TEMPERATURES DEPENDENT ON TIMING AND SUCH...BUT GENERALLY CLOSER TO NORMAL VALUES. && .AVIATION...IFR/MVFR CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS BEFORE IMPROVING SOMETIME MONDAY. STRONGER NORTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...AND DIMINISH ON MONDAY. && .HYDROLOGY... WILL ISSUE AN AREAL FLOOD WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN RED RIVER VALLEY GENERALLY SOUTH OF THE I-94 / U.S. 10 CORRIDOR AS OVERLAND FLOODING INCREASES DUE TO RAPID RUNOFF. RIVER WARNINGS FOR MINOR...MODERATE...AND MAJOR FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE RED RIVER VALLEY FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE AS THE SNOW-MELT INCREASES. WARM TEMPERATURES AND WHAT LITTLE PRECIPITATION HAS FALLEN HAS RESULTED IN CONTINUES INCREASES IN THE RATES OF RISE ALONG MANY RIVERS...ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHERN BASIN. REPORTS FROM THE SOUTHERN RED RIVER VALLEY INDICATE THAT WATER PREVIOUSLY BEING HELD BACK BY BLOCKED OR FROZEN DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IS NOW BEGINNING TO MOVE MORE RAPIDLY INTO THE MAIN-STEM AND TRIBUTARIES. THIS IS ESPECIALLY NOTED ON THE MINNESOTA SIDE OF THE RED RIVER SOUTH OF THE WAHPETON/BRECKENRIDGE AREA. THE RABBIT RIVER AT CAMPBELL HAS RISEN 3 FEET...AND THE BOIS DE SIOUX AT DORAN HAS RISEN 2 FEET...BOTH IN THE PAST 24 HOURS. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL ONLY SLIGHTLY BEHIND THE DEPARTING STORM SYSTEM...BUT NOT ENOUGH TO SLOW THE ONGOING MELT CYCLE. NIGHTTIME LOWS WILL FALL INTO THE MID 20S TONIGHT AND MONDAY NIGHT...WITH DAYTIME HIGHS IN THE 40S TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES REACHING THE 50S BY THURSDAY WILL LIKELY ALLOW AREAS THAT ARE NOT YET EXPERIENCING RUNOFF TO SEE THE PROCESS BEGIN. IN AREAS WHERE THE RUNOFF IS ONGOING IT SHOULD BE AT OR NEAR THE PEAK BY LATE WEEK. THE POTENTIAL FOR ICE JAMMING WILL CONTINUE THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE NORTHERN TRIBUTARIES TO THE RED RIVER. && .FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ND...NONE. MN...NONE. && GODON/TG/EWENS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND 244 PM CDT SUN APR 3 2011 MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052>054-041945- 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- 244 PM CDT SUN APR 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A BAND OF LIGHT SNOW...MIXED INITIALLY WITH SOME LIGHT RAIN...WILL AFFECT AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 94 TONIGHT. THIS IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS LESS THAN ONE INCH. COLDER AIR WILL ALSO MOVE IN TONIGHT ALONG WITH GUSTY NORTH WINDS. RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS FOR THE MAIN STEM RED AND MANY OF ITS TRIBUTARIES WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT AS RUNOFF FROM WARMER TEMPERATURES CONTINUES TO INCREASE RIVER LEVELS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. A STORM SYSTEM MAY ALSO IMPACT THE AREA LATE IN THE WEEK. RIVER FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO WORSEN DURING THE WEEK AS RIVER LEVELS ALONG THE MAIN STEM RED AND ITS TRIBUTARIES RISE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
906 AM CDT SUN APR 03 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0904 AM SNOW 3 N HANSBORO 49.00N 99.38W
04/03/2011 M3.0 INCH TOWNER ND CO-OP OBSERVER
0.59 INCHES OF LIQUID EQUIVALENT
&&
DKELLENBPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
907 AM CDT SUN APR 03 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0904 AM SNOW PARK RIVER 48.39N 97.74W
04/03/2011 M2.0 INCH WALSH ND CO-OP OBSERVER
0.29 WATER EQUIVALENT
&&
DKELLENBPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1005 AM CDT SUN APR 03 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1004 AM SNOW EDMORE 48.41N 98.45W
04/03/2011 M3.0 INCH RAMSEY ND CO-OP OBSERVER
&&
DKELLENBThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A 73 year old resident of Oakport Township suffered a heart attack and died while he and his family were filling and placing sandbags to protect their home, located north of Moorhead.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood, Clay | 2011-04-06 | 73 | Male | Heavy Equipment/Construction | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, April 2011
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: 288661, 288662, 288663, 288664, 288666, 288667, 288668, 288669, 288670.