414 first-hand accounts of flood events in North Dakota, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
The spring snow melt of 2023 saw many areas of flooding over North Dakota due to a record deep snow pack and relatively fast melt. Multiple counties experienced infrastructure damage due to the flooding.
Read the full account →Very heavy rain over several hours led to the second episode of flash flooding in the Bismarck area in less than 24 hours. This flash flooding was no where near as severe as the day before (13th) and was concentrated on the south side of the city.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms developed mid-day along and ahead of a slowly advancing cold front over northwestern North Dakota in an unseasonably moist and unstable atmosphere. The storms then spread south and east through the day.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms formed along and near a warm front draped through central North Dakota during the afternoon and early evening hours, with many becoming severe. Early in the event, a tornado formed over south central Wells County, north of Chaseley.
Read the full account →A few thunderstorms developed during the late morning hours over central North Dakota where southerly low level flow increased instability, and deep layer shear was elevated. Initially, a nearly stationary supercell developed over Oliver County.
Read the full account →The cresting Red River caused numerous problems to the Hickson and Fargo areas. Numerous homes along the river were flooded, as the river rose to a new record for the century on the 18th, at 39.55 feet.
Read the full account →By the late afternoon of the 20th, a weak area of surface low pressure set up near Devils Lake, with the warm front extending out to the east-southeast. Temperatures had risen into the mid 70s to low 80s in the warm sector, with dew points in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
Read the full account →By the late afternoon of the 20th, a weak area of surface low pressure set up near Devils Lake, with the warm front extending out to the east-southeast. Temperatures had risen into the mid 70s to low 80s in the warm sector, with dew points in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
Read the full account →After peaking at 1444.77 feet MSL in 1998, the 1999 Devils Lake lake level rose roughly another 2 feet and fluctuated around 1447.00 feet MSL . This presented more challenges and problems to the people surrounding the lake.
Read the full account →A cluster of thunderstorms formed over the northern Red River Valley during the early morning hours of Saturday, July 4th. A couple of the individual storm cells became fairly strong, but the main hazard shifted to heavy rain.
Read the full account →A cluster of thunderstorms formed over the northern Red River Valley during the early morning hours of Saturday, July 4th. A couple of the individual storm cells became fairly strong, but the main hazard shifted to heavy rain.
Read the full account →Several waves of heavy rain, with embedded non severe thunderstorms with torrential rain, moved through western and central North Dakota. There was overland, stream, river and flash flooding, mainly over the southern half of the western and central parts of the state.
Read the full account →A surface boundary stretching from southwest into north central North Dakota served as the primary focal point for thunderstorm development in an atmosphere of very high instability.
Read the full account →The snow took longer to melt across the eastern edge of the northern Red River Valley, although it did melt earlier along the western edge of the valley. At the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks, the snow depth fell to zero on April 6th.
Read the full account →The snow took longer to melt across the eastern edge of the northern Red River Valley, although it did melt earlier along the western edge of the valley. At the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks, the snow depth fell to zero on April 6th.
Read the full account →The snow took longer to melt across the eastern edge of the northern Red River Valley, although it did melt earlier along the western edge of the valley. At the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks, the snow depth fell to zero on April 6th.
Read the full account →The winter snow melted first on the Minnesota side of the southern Red River Valley. Visible satellite imagery confirmed this fact, showing a distinct snow free north to south band that extended roughly 20 or so miles east of the Red River from Grant to Wilkin to Clay counties.
Read the full account →The winter snow melted first on the Minnesota side of the southern Red River Valley. Visible satellite imagery confirmed this fact, showing a distinct snow free north to south band that extended roughly 20 or so miles east of the Red River from Grant to Wilkin to Clay counties.
Read the full account →The winter snow melted first on the Minnesota side of the southern Red River Valley. Visible satellite imagery confirmed this fact, showing a distinct snow free north to south band that extended roughly 20 or so miles east of the Red River from Grant to Wilkin to Clay counties.
Read the full account →The winter snow melted first on the Minnesota side of the southern Red River Valley. Visible satellite imagery confirmed this fact, showing a distinct snow free north to south band that extended roughly 20 or so miles east of the Red River from Grant to Wilkin to Clay counties.
Read the full account →The winter snow melted first on the Minnesota side of the southern Red River Valley. Visible satellite imagery confirmed this fact, showing a distinct snow free north to south band that extended roughly 20 or so miles east of the Red River from Grant to Wilkin to Clay counties.
Read the full account →This was part of historic flooding in North Dakota with statewide costs estimated around 1.5 billion dollars. Flooding was the result of significant winter snows and significant spring rains, not only in North Dakota but in Montana as well.
Read the full account →Training thunderstorms, mainly across portions of Grand Forks County, produced 3 to 10 inches of rain. The heaviest rain was around Arvilla, North Dakota, at 10 inches. This resulted in washed out roads, flooded fields and basements, and ponding of water in low lying areas.
Read the full account →A surface boundary stretching from southwest into north central North Dakota served as the primary focal point for thunderstorm development in an atmosphere of very high instability.
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