Origins
There were five main factors that contributed to the flood's severity:
- Rainstorms in autumn of 1996 had saturated the ground so that it could not absorb much water.
- There was abundant snowfall during the 1996–1997 winter. A total of 98.6 inches (250 cm) of seasonal snow accumulations in Fargo and 117 inches (297 cm) downstream in Grand Forks along with other record snowfall events covered the Red River of the North's watershed.
- Abnormally cold temperatures plagued the Upper Midwest during this particular winter. Between November 7, 1996 and March 18, 1997 (a span of 131 days) the air temperature only reached 40 degrees 3 times in Grand Forks. Because there were only a few days above freezing, there was very little gradual melting of the snow that fell throughout the winter. Starting on March 19, 1997 the temperature then rose above freezing for 27 consecutive days, and only eight days after that would the temperature remain below freezing. However, due to the sudden warmth in April, it melted the deep snowpack too quickly for the river to handle.
- A freak blizzard (unofficially named "Hannah" by the Grand Forks Herald) had dumped a large amount of freezing rain and snow on the Red River Valley on the weekend of April 5, 1997.
- Tributary peak flows tended to coincide with those on the Red River itself.
Read more about this topic: 1997 Red River Flood In The United States
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