It's confirmed: Red River crested at 40.82 feet on Saturday.

[flewellyn]

This is not as high as we were expecting, and the reason seems to be the freak blizzard that hit us on Wednesday, and froze everything again. Water flows into the river slowed to a crawl, and the crest was much lower than anticipated.

Hopefully, the cold will hold long enough to let the excess water flush itself out. However, this is what the National Weather Service had to say in its latest bulletin:

COLD TEMPERATURES HAVE TEMPORARILY SLOWED OVERLAND RUNOFF SOUTH OF
FARGO...RESULTING IN A LOWER THAN EXPECTED PEAK FLOW. ALTHOUGH RIVER
LEVELS HAVE STABILIZED MANY FACTORS REMAIN PRESENT THAT COULD
POTENTIALLY CAUSE ADDITIONAL RISES OF ONE HALF TO ONE FOOT AT FARGO.
IT IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR STAGES TO FLUCTUATE IN LARGE FLOODS OF THIS
MAGNITUDE. THE RISK OF ADDITIONAL FLOODING IN THE AREA WILL REMAIN
VERY HIGH FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

So, we're still keeping an eye out. As long as levels remain below 43 feet, I'm fine. Despite being two blocks from the river, I'm on high ground. Still, I have my bug-out bag packed and ready, and can grab the cats and leave at any time if I have to.

Still...never thought I'd say it, but thank God for that blizzard!

Comments

[creepers58.livejournal.com]

The dike at Oak Grove has buckled due to ground erosion. Two buildings were lost. But the situation is contained and so far, no evacuation order.

[darph-bobo.livejournal.com]

When I heard about this I was hoping for something of that sort. An arctic cold front moving into northeastern PA in January of 1996 did something similar for the Susquehanna River.

[kimberly-t.livejournal.com]

Here's hoping that the cold snap continues to keep the flood down!

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

Glad to read that you're still OK. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the cold snap will continue to help.

My friend in Fargo is busy at PAAWS as they've temporarily expanded to help with evacuated pets.

Shakatany

[happiestsadist.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're still okay.