Flooding in North Dakota, April 3 to 30, 2011

Name: Flooding in North Dakota, April 3 to 30, 2011
Start: 2011-04-03T14:03
End: 2011-04-30T23:59
Location: North Dakota

April 3 to 30, 2011 · NWS FGF · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 2
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 of 2010-2011 generally brought above normal amounts of snow to the area, but particularly so for the Devils Lake basin, the Sheyenne River basin, and the Wild Rice River basin. 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 Cass County. At the height of flooding, Interstate 29 was closed between Fargo and the Highway 200 exit, due to the high water. Traffic was diverted to state highway 18 for several days until the water receded. Hundreds of other roads were also closed due to overland flooding.

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 3, 2:03 PM CST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 2:03 PM CST, 0 minutes before

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, Apr 3, 1:44 PM CST, 19 minutes before

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.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 3, 8:06 AM CST, 5 hours 57 minutes before

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

&&

DKELLENB

Local storm report, Apr 3, 8:07 AM CST, 5 hours 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY 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

&&

DKELLENB

Local storm report, Apr 3, 9:05 AM CST, 4 hours 58 minutes before

PRELIMINARY 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

&&

DKELLENB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Barnes

When: April 3, 2:03 PM CST to April 25, 10:59 AM CST
Where: Barnes County, 4.38 mi NNW of Frazier to 3.95 mi W of Litchville
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 47.240, -98.450

Flood, Cass

When: April 3, 2:03 PM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 4.17 mi N of Walden to 6.6 mi S of Elizabeth
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Deaths: 0 direct, 2 indirect
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 47.240, -97.690

Two hunters died after the boat the were using capsized on a flooded portion of the Maple River in Hill Township, about 37 miles west of Fargo.

Flood, Ransom

When: April 3, 2:03 PM CST to April 25, 10:59 AM CST
Where: Ransom County, 8.66 mi NW of Ft Ransom to 3.49 mi SW of Englevale
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 46.620, -98.030

Flood, Richland

When: April 3, 2:03 PM CST to April 25, 10:59 AM CST
Where: Richland County, 16.85 mi WNW of Walcott to Lidgerwood
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 46.620, -97.270

Flood, Sargent

When: April 3, 2:03 PM CST to April 16, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Sargent County, 5.04 mi NNW of Crete to 1.91 mi SSW of Straubville
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 46.270, -98.000

Flood, Traill

When: April 8, 9:51 AM CST to April 16, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Traill County, 1.38 mi N of Hatton to 9.33 mi SW of Galesburg
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 47.670, -97.470

Flood, Grand Forks

When: April 8, 9:51 AM CST to April 26, 1:08 PM CST
Where: Grand Forks County, 8.32 mi W of Forest River Colony to 8.3 mi S of Logan Center
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 48.190, -97.880

Flood, Walsh

When: April 8, 9:51 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Walsh County, 5.24 mi NW of Fairdale to 2.39 mi SSW of Adams
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 48.540, -98.300

The people who died

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, Cass	2011-04-07	59	Male	Boating	Indirect
Flood, Cass	2011-04-07	69	Male	Boating	Indirect

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 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, April 2011

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: 288618, 288619, 288620, 288621, 288622, 288623, 288624, 288625.