2009 Red River flood

2009 Red River flood

Red River of the North in Fargo, March 28, 2009
Date	March 2009–April 2009
Location	North Dakota, Minnesota, Manitoba
Deaths	3
Property damage	Unknown

External video

Amphibious icebreaker in Selkirk

Greg Selinger about 3rd icebreaker

The 2009 Red River flood along the Red River of the North in North Dakota and Minnesota in the United States and Manitoba in Canada brought record flood levels to the Fargo-Moorhead area. The flood was a result of saturated and frozen ground, Spring snowmelt exacerbated by additional rain and snow storms, and virtually flat terrain. Communities along the Red River prepared for more than a week as the U.S. National Weather Service continuously updated the predictions for the city of Fargo, North Dakota with an increasingly higher projected river crest. Originally predicted to reach a level of near 43 feet (13 m) at Fargo by March 29, the river in fact crested at 40.84 feet (12.45 m) at 12:15 a.m. March 28, and started a slow decline. The river continued to rise to the north as the crest moved downstream.

The Red River flows from the United States into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. Unlike the vast majority of rivers in the United States, it flows northward, which means melting snow and river ice, as well as runoff from its tributaries, often create ice dams, which cause the river to overflow. The valley is essentially flat, leading to overland flooding, with no high ground on which to take refuge.

The Red River flood plain. Low-elevation areas are green, while higher elevation regions are tan and white.

The Red River around Fargo before the 2009 floods started, as seen from space.

The flooded river around Fargo as seen from space.

Ground which was already saturated when it froze at the onset of winter, melting snow which could not be absorbed by the frozen ground, and additional precipitation from high winter snow fall, a rain storm on March 22 and a later snowstorm, high temperature snow melt rate, are reasons for the serious flooding.

A low-pressure area caused the rain storm on March 22 and by March 25 a total of 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) fell in the Winnipeg area, and 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 inches) in southern Manitoba. In northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, around 8 inches of snow accumulated from the same storm.

Warnings for the 2009 flood occurred as early as March 9 when the National Weather Service warned that the Fargo-Moorhead area could see a significant flood of between 35 feet (11 m) and 36 feet (11 m). As preparations began for the flooding on March 16, North Dakota Governor John Hoeven declared a statewide disaster in anticipation of flooding across the state. On March 19, the National Weather Service raised the predicted flood level in the Fargo area to between 37 feet (11 m) and 40 feet (12 m). The city began filling sandbags on March 20. In anticipation of a rain and snow storm, the predicted crest level was raised on March 22 to a range from 39 feet (12 m) to 41 feet (12 m).