Flood — Grand Forks, North Dakota

2001-04-07 to 2001-04-26 · Grand Forks, North Dakota

Wider weather episode

The winter brought 45.3 inches of snow to the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks area, which is slightly above the average of 40 inches. Snow water contents across Grand Forks county ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 inches. The snow over Grand Forks county had melted by the first of April, and the snowmelt began to affect the rivers. Then, a heavy rain event occurred on the 7th, and brought 1 to 2 inches of rain to the Red River basin. The Red River peaked at 44.80 feet on April 12th, which was not in the top ten crests on record. The English Coulee backup up from the high Red River level, forcing some sandbagging of homes in north Grand Forks. The Burke addition was also cut off by the high river, leaving 26 homes without road access. Another rain event further south on the 11th and 12th, and a winter storm on the 22nd and 23rd helped hold up the Red River level through most of the month. The point bridge between Grand Forks and East Grand Forks was closed due to the high river level.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5238752. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.