The Flood of 2009?

As Spring draws closer and closer, there's an uneasy feeling around Grand Forks, as well as everywhere else along the Red River. That feeling is understandable, because it's becoming more apparent that the Red is gonna rise again. A lot of residents knew it was bad news when we had record setting precipitation in the Fall. Then came the first blizzard of Winter, along with a ton of snow. After that was the bitter cold, which doesn't really affect the flood outlook as much as it just pisses us all off. It appears Winter made its final roar this month with Blizzard Coyote and gave us all the middle finger by dumping even more snow on us. Now the forecast calls for warmer temperatures, it looks like highs in the 40s next week. That's great and all, but it also means it's time to start thinking about that 5-letter word no Grand Forks resident ever wants to hear: Flood.

The National Weather Service in Grand Forks released their latest flood outlook probabilities and gave a 50% chance of the river reaching 50 feet. They also gave a 10%-20% chance of flood levels exceeding the 54.4 foot record level reached in 1997. Keep in mind that those are pretty slim odds. Even if the river did exceed that level, the levee is good up to 60 feet. The odds of us seeing anything even REMOTELY close to the nightmare of 1997 are extremely slim.


Here's some perspective on flood levels for Grand Forks:

60.0		Top of the levee constructed by Corps of Engineers for City of Grand Forks.
54.4		Record flood level. 22 April 1997...from floodmarks.
53.0		Top of the rails on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Bridge over the Red River.
52.6		Water on Gateway Drive approach to Kennedy Bridge in East Grand Forks.
47.0		Begin Railroad closure if water is expected to rise to over 50 feet.
46.2		Water on Demers Avenue at Sorlie Bridge.
46.0		Major Flood Stage.
45.0		Sorlie Bridge...Demers Avenue is closed. Top of the elevation of the low level levee protecting Riverside Park.
44.9		Water on East Grand Forks approach to the Point Bridge.
42.0		Road entering Riverside Park is closed.
41.5		Flood gates on English Coulee are closed, pump station and diversion gates are activated.
40.0		Moderate flood stage. Extensive flooding along greenway for Grand Forks.
38.0		Flood gates are closed in Grand Forks and storm water pumping stations are activated.
34.0		East Grand Forks water encroaching 4th St underpass of Highway 2.
33.0		Agricultural flooding between Oslo and Grand Forks. Agricultural damage begins at river mile 271 - 296.
28.0		Flood warning stage...minor. Bank full stage.
27.0		Forecast Service Stage.

(source: NWS-GF)

This is the page you want to keep your eyes on for details about flood levels. Other good sites to keep you updated are the Grand Forks Herald website and National Weather Service- Grand Forks Office's website.

Don't start panicking, but do keep informed. I will continue to follow the flood and post pictures up showing the different stages the river reaches this spring.

Until then, enjoy the warmer weather! We can actually go outside again!


Also, for those with short memories, I found a USGS site with pictures from 2006's flood.