Flood — Eastern Walsh, North Dakota

2004-03-27 to 2004-03-31 · Eastern Walsh, North Dakota

Wider weather episode

[See antecedent conditions written in brackets under Ramsey county]. For eastern Walsh county, river flood warnings were issued for the Park River at Grafton and the Forest River at Minto. Grafton crested right around its major (16 feet) flood stage on the 30th. Minto crested over its moderate (8 feet) flood stage on the 30th. For all of Walsh county, 100 miles of county/township roads were closed with nearly 400 road sites damaged. County-wide, damages were reported totalling $2.4 million. Most of this damage occurred in the eastern half of the county. US Highway 81 was closed from Manvel to Grafton. Grafton, the largest city with a population of around 5,000, had the worst flooding. The Park River crest at Grafton was not the highest on record (which occurred in April of 1950), but was higher than the level in April 1997 (the last big flood event). Nearly 100 homes took on water, mostly basement flooding and sewer backup. This caused about $1 million in damage just to Grafton. The city park was also flooded. The town of Minto, population 560, also had serious flooding. The Forest River crest at Minto was also not as high as the record event in April 1950, but also was higher than April 1997. 26 homes in Minto took on water. Again this flooding was mostly basement flooding, but one home did have main floor damage. The city of Park River also had 6 homes with basement flooding. One bridge in the county collapsed after being hit by a floating tree.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5389709. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.