The flood outlook continues to improve on the Red River.
Things have calmed down in the southern and central areas of the Valley — and not much excitement is expected downstream, according to National Weather Service Hydrologist Amanda Lee.
“Pretty much Wahpeton up through Halstad for the most part has crested,” she said on Monday. “Grand Forks and Oslo are kind of hovering around their peak level, and expected to stay there for quite some time and that’s due to that flood wave making its way down the Red.”
Lee said the Red at Drayton and Pembina is expected to crest this week or early next week.
Lee said about a quarter-inch of rain is expected Wednesday through Friday.
“We’re not expecting that amount of liquid precipation to do too much to river levels; it might just keep them elevated for a little while longer,” Lee said. “We’re not expecting much for any major huge rises or anything like that.”
According to Lee, there’s a low chance of greater precipitation in isolated areas, which could raise river levels.
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Grand Forks officials are reminding residents to make sure sump pumps are discharged outside and not into the sanitary sewer.
With elevated river levels…and snowmelt runoff…several pump stations are experiencing an increase in water volume coming through the system. One south side pump station has seen levels jump from 100,000 gallons per day to upwards of 350,000 gallons. While the station still has capacity – it has drawn some concern.
4/22
The Flood Warning continues for much of the Red River Valley. The National Weather Service has lowered the crest prediction for Grand Forks / East Grand Forks to 41 feet – 13 feet over flood stage.
The outlook calls for the river to fluctuate around that mark for the next seven days. Fargo appears to be cresting this week shy of major flood stage of 30 feet. And will gradually fall throughout the week. Oslo (MN) will crest in the coming days at 36.4 and hold steady.
Southern and central portions of the mainstem Red and tributaries have crested or are nearing crests
At the current level no bridge closures are anticipated for the Grand Forks area. There are a few road still impacted by water. MN Highway 317 and MN 220 is closed due to flooding.
The lower parking lot of River Boat Road is closed due to water…
The Lower lop of Lincoln Drive Park is closed…
River Road to 17th Street NW in EGF is closed….
The Hwy 2 ramp underpass is closed…..
The train bridge underpass is closed….
Cool temps are slowing the melt of the six inches of new snow that fell this week. The ongoing snowmelt may lead to additional rises or prolong the high river levels. Crests for Drayton and Pembina are still a week out.
4/21/23
There’s some better news on the flood front. Despite six to seven inches of new snow, the National Weather Service has lowered crest predictions on the Red River.
NWS Hydrologist Amanda Lee said the basin picked up anywhere from a quarter to one-and-a-half inches of liquid precipitation in the last day, but most of the precip from this system came as snow — and that, combined with expected cold weekend temperatures, will allow for a delay in run-off into the river system.
“It might take a little while to really get this melt going, but the good news is that it won’t be very rapid,” Lee said. “It should be pretty slow going to get rid of this new snowpack that we have out there, so overall, not too much for impacts to the rivers but we will see a little bit of the potential for re-rises at some locations.”
The expected crest for the Red River at Grand Forks-East Grand Forks has ticked down a half-foot to 42.5 feet early Monday.
The estimated crest for the Red at Fargo-Moorhead has been lowered a foot-and-a-half to 31 feet, expected on Sunday.
The Red at Oslo is looking at a crest of 36.7 feet on Sunday.
After a few snow showers today (Fri), the next chance for precipitation doesn’t arrive until Wednesday.
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Grand Forks crews will be closing 27th Ave. N. between N. Washington St. and Mill Road at the end of the day today.
Crews have also closed N. Shadyridge Court due to water over the road. S. Shadyridge Court remains open at this time.
Some early school dismissals because of inclement weather and road conditions:
Larimore dismissed elementary students at 12:15…and high school students at 12:30…
Emerado school dismissed at 12:30… with distance learning scheduled Friday…
Manvel dismissed classes at 12:45…
Northwood school will dismiss at 2:00.
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The Grand Forks Air Force Base reports standing water in ditches along the main roads and highways.
The base’s commercial gate closed today (Thu) at noon… but the main gate is open.
Supervisors have been granted early release authority. Questions about an individual’s release status should be directed to them.
MnDOT has closed Highways 317 and 220 north of Oslo due to water over the road. Motorists should use alternate routes.
The road will reopen when water has receded, and crews are able to make any necessary repairs.
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FLOOD PAGE LINKS
City of Grand Forks:
https://www.grandforksgov.com/government/city-departments/engineering/flood-control/flood-fight
East Grand Forks flood page:
https://www.eastgrandforks.us/320/Flood-Information
NWS Grand Forks:
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=FGF
GF County flood info:
https://www.gfcounty.nd.gov/information/2023-flood-information
ND 511:
The National Weather Service has fine-tuned the Red River crest outlook for Grand Forks – East Grand Forks. The latest NWS crest projection is for Sunday at right around 43 feet – or 15 feet over flood stage. The flood outlook suggests river levels will remain at that level – or just slightly lower – for multiple days.
NWS Hydrologist Amanda Lee says the liquid precipitation anticipated over the next few days is built into the outlook.
“Temperature-wise in the next seven days, (it’s) still going to be well below normal.” Lee said. “Probably 20 to 25 degrees below normal for our high temperature. (Temperatures will be) generally in the 30s and 40s for the most part, kind of going up and down above and below that freezing mark, which continues to slow down the river flows and such considerably.”
Fargo’s expected crest of the Red is now estimated at 33-and-a-half feet on Sunday. That’s down a foot from yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) projection.
Oslo is expected to reach 35.7 feet by early next week. River levels continue to fall on the Red Lake River at Crookston – and should be below flood stage later today (Wednesday).
The Highway 2 off ramp and the River Road underpass in East Grand Forks is now closed to traffic due to rising flood waters. The train bridge underpass is now closed to traffic because of flooding.
From the city of Grand Forks: The lower loop of Lincoln Drive Park is closed due to rising flood waters. This includes access to the dog park.
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East Grand Forks is the latest city to declare a local Flood Emergency.
he trigger for making that call is when the rising Red River reaches 28 feet…flood stage…and that happened on Tuesday.
Fire Chief Jeff Boushee says it’s simply a precautionary move. “Just in case we need to make some emergency purchases and requesting state and county aid.”
The National Weather Service is predicting the Red River to climb to just under 43 feet next week. Public Works Director Jason Stordahl says at this time they don’t anticipate putting up any flood closures. So what about the Point Bridge? “We believe it will stay open. It’s now dictated whether it will close by Grand Forks closing their flood wall at about 45.2”
Water has already impacted one low lying road in East Grand Forks. A stretch of 1st Street NE near Hill Street is flooded. Stordahl says the River Road underpass will also get wet once the river reaches 35-36 feet.
4/18
With precipitation in the forecast, there’s been a slight uptick in the crest projection for the Red River at Fargo.
The National Weather Service now expects a crest of 34-and-a-half feet by Sunday, about a foot or so higher than the last projection. Flood stage is 18 feet.
Upstream of Fargo, Jim Kaiser of the National Weather Service on Tuesday said, “We’re still kind of in that moderate (flood) stage area for Halstad and for Grand Forks. No major changes there… Oslo is right around the high-end moderate/low-end major category.”
The Red River in Grand Forks/East Grand Forks is expected to reach 42.2 feet by the 25th. Flood stage is 28.
As for the Red Lake River at Crookston, National Weather Service Hydrologist Amanda Lee said, “It looks like Crookston should be out of the woods now, except for the potential of maybe more ice impacts. It looks like that flood wave is nearing Fisher at this point.”
KNOX Staff Meteorologist Mark Ewens says the Grand Forks area can expect one-to-two-thirds of an inch of rain Wednesday through Friday, and even 2-to-4 inches of wet snow Thursday night and Friday. Some of that snow will accumulate, but much of it will melt as it falls.
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The Red River has officially jumped its banks in Grand Forks / East Grand Forks. The “Red” climbed over the 28 foot flood stage mark around 4 a.m. this (Tue) morning. The River is expected to slowly rise to 41.4 feet by Monday.
Grand Forks crews continue to make preparations for the rising waters by positioning pumps at strategic locations and getting ready to close stop flap gates as needed.
Local officials gearing up for a crest of 44 to 45 feet – although several predict the river will likely top out in the low 40’s and remain at that level for several weeks. That’s based on the belief that eastern tributaries will continue to fall and water from a potential crest in Fargo will take a few weeks to arrive in Grand Forks. In addition lows at night will generally fall below the freezing mark for the coming week.
Tributaries that are falling include the Red Lake River at Crookston (MN)…Marsh River at Shelly (MN)…and the Buffalo River near Dilworth. On the flip side the Goose River and Sheyenne River are both climbing.
Grand Forks is expected to close the south end pedestrian bridge in the Greenway today (Tuesday).
FLOOD PAGE LINKS
City of Grand Forks:
https://www.grandforksgov.com/government/city-departments/engineering/flood-control/flood-fight
East Grand Forks flood page:
https://www.eastgrandforks.us/320/Flood-Information
NWS Grand Forks:
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=FGF
GF County flood info:
https://www.gfcounty.nd.gov/information/2023-flood-information
ND 511:
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4/17
Although there is some room for optimism about flooding this spring the National Weather Service says there are still question marks – including precipitation chances late this week.
Southern portions of the mainstem Red will approach crest levels late this week before slowly falling. The Red Lake River at Crookston is also expected to drop back flood stage by Friday.
The NWS has the Red River in Grand Forks / East Grand Forks reaching nearly 40 feet by Sunday.
NWS Hydrologist Amanda Lee says while many eastern tributaries are reaching their peak – there is still snow to melt in southern areas of the basin. Lee says there are pockets of overland flooding – mainly north and south of Grand Forks County and Polk County.
The NWS has the Red River in Grand Forks / East Grand Forks reaching nearly 40 feet by Sunday.
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The latest Flood Outlook from the NWS in Grand Forks suggests the melting snow has been slowed by cooler temperatures. River responses are still expected to heat up in the coming days. The rate of the rise and ultimate crest levels remain uncertain due to the rate of snowmelt and runoff.
An ice jam is impacting the river gauge in Crookston on the Red Lake this morning (Monday) pushing the level to over 22 feet. Flood stage is 15. Forecasters expect the river to fall back to flood stage by Thursday.
The Red River at Fargo jumped its banks on Sunday and is projected to reach 31 feet by next weekend.
Forecasters have posted their first look at river levels for GF/EGF and put the “Red” approaching 40 feet by Sunday. Flood stage is 28. Moderate flooding is considered at the 40 foot mark.
Both the 6-10 and 8-14 day forecast have temps trending below normal with precipitation at or slightly below normal. The forecast for the coming week has daytime highs climbing above freezing mark during the day and lows dropping below 32 degrees at night.
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A FLOOD WARNING continues for Grand Forks County. The National Weather Service has issued varying degrees of WARNINGS for counties adjacent to the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Overland flooding is the main concern right now from snowmelt. Grand Forks street crews Friday closed North 55th Street from University Avenue to 6th Avenue North Friday evening due to water on the road.
A stretch of US 81 south of Minto has closed due to flooding. Also a stretch from St. Thomas to Hamilton has reduced speeds due to water on the road.
Travel speeds have been reduced on ND 17 near ND 18 South due to water on the road.
The west bound exit ramp #324 along I-94 (Wheatland exit) is temporarily closed. I-94 near Buffalo has reduced speeds due to water.
The Minnesota DOT closed Highway 200 on the western limits of Ada for overland flooding for a portion of the weekend – but water levels have receded and the stretch was reopened Sunday afternoon. Minnesota 9 north of Ada (MN) has reduced speeds as well.
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Previous Posts (4/15)
Flood Warnings are now posted for portions of eleven counties directly located along the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota.
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