414 first-hand accounts of flood events in North Dakota, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Over the winter of 2016-2017, the most snow fell across the Devils Lake basin up into northeast North Dakota. By late March 2017, snow water equivalents in this area ranged from 3 to 4 inches, with isolated pockets of 5 inches.
Read the full account →Over the winter of 2016-2017, the most snow fell across the Devils Lake basin up into northeast North Dakota. By late March 2017, snow water equivalents in this area ranged from 3 to 4 inches, with isolated pockets of 5 inches.
Read the full account →By mid afternoon of July 8th, temperatures across eastern North Dakota and the northwest quarter of Minnesota had risen into the mid to upper 80s with dew points in the mid 60s to low 70s. A stationary boundary set up from west of Bismarck to near Rolla, North Dakota.
Read the full account →Snowmelt caused lakes, coulees, and ditches to fill with water, running toward Devils Lake. The 3 coulees running into Devils Lake experienced record flows. 80 percent of the county roads were estimated to be under water at some point.
Read the full account →A moderately unstable but very moist atmosphere was in place over southwest North Dakota when numerous thunderstorms developed in the late afternoon. Initially, large hail was the main threat, with the largest hail being half-dollar size falling in Grant County.
Read the full account →A variety of weak short waves moving through the region resulted in multiple thunderstorms developing. Initial storms in the mid-afternoon produced multiple funnel clouds, with large hail developing by late afternoon.
Read the full account →The rising Red River filled parts of Wahpeton with water, which froze in place as the temperature dropped. Floodfighters had to sandbag during the blizzard to try to save parts of the city. Many Richland county roads washed out or were closed due to the high water.
Read the full account →A shortwave trough approached the area and interacted with a surface boundary which led to thunderstorm development during the late evening and overnight hours. Ample deep layer shear and enhanced instability were present.
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 late season rapid snow melt caused flooding along the Souris (Mouse) River and Des Lacs River through north central North Dakota. Additionally, there were necessary releases from upstream dams in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, Canada, due to rapid snow melt there and…
Read the full account →Devils Lake rose to a new record stage of 1448.10 feet on August 9th. The lake now covered 129,000 acres and was beginning to flow into Stump Lake at about 20 cfs. Highway 1 near Stump Lake was close to being flooded.
Read the full account →Very heavy rain continued over several days at the end of June. Three to five inches of rain fell from Minot through Sherwood, and from Crosby through Lignite to Stanley. The highest rain amount was seven inches from Renville County.
Read the full account →An extremely unstable atmosphere combined with very strong deep layer wind shear set the stage for intense thunderstorm development. Initially, thunderstorms were supercells, and formed along a warm front that lifted through North Dakota in the afternoon and evening hours.
Read the full account →The winter brought 52.5 inches of snow to the Fargo-Moorhead area, which was above the average of 40 inches. The snow water content over Cass county ranged from 2.5 to 3.5 inches.
Read the full account →A second crest on the Red River at Wahpeton occurred on April 15th. Record releases from White Rock Dam, the source of the Bois de Sioux River, helped cause the second crest. The previous record release of 3770 cfs, set prior to 1997, was nearly doubled, to around 7000 cfs.
Read the full account →Record levels on the Sheyenne River forced the closing of Interstate 29 near Harwood. New records were set on the Sheyenne at Kindred on the 8th, West Fargo on the 9th, and Harwood on the 10th.
Read the full account →An extremely unstable atmosphere combined with very strong deep layer wind shear set the stage for intense thunderstorm development. Initially, thunderstorms were supercells, and formed along a warm front that lifted through North Dakota in the afternoon and evening hours.
Read the full account →A compact upper level low approached North Dakota while strong instability and very strong deep layer shear were present over a broad portion of the state.
Read the full account →The headwaters of the Red River received the most snow over the course of the winter. Snow water equivalents of 4 to 5 inches were measured from the snowpack over this area. As the snowmelt progressed through early April, several heavy rain events occurred.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →Runoff from very heavy rain resulted in a rapid four foot rise along the Souris River near Sherwood. A mandatory evacuation was ordered for Mouse River Park located in McKinney Township.
Read the full account →Tornado Watch number 217 was in effect during this event.||Thunderstorms developing in the afternoon, in the warm sector of an area of low pressure, continued into the evening as an upper level short wave trough moved into the Dakotas.
Read the full account →Western and central North Dakota experienced a snowy winter of 2008-2009. Bismarck, for example, had the snowiest December on record, which was also the snowiest month ever on record, with 33.3 inches of snow in December 2008.
Read the full account →Very heavy rain continued over several days at the end of June. Three to five inches of rain fell from Minot through Sherwood, and from Crosby through Lignite to Stanley. The highest rain amount was seven inches from Renville County.
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