Fargo flooding, an ominous forecast, and a long history.

From a NWS flood statement on Friday:

RECORD FLOWS UPSTREAM OF FARGO HAVE PRODUCED UNPRECEDENTED CONDITIONS ON THE RED RIVER. GIVEN THESE FACTORS...THE RIVER IS EXPECTED TO BEHAVE IN WAYS NEVER PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED.

For those of us watching floodplain policy and climate change, these words are especially poignant. It seems the peak was not as high as forecasters thought it might be--these things are tough to predict when there is a lot of ice and snow involved.

Fargo has a long history of flooding, and North Dakota State University has a comprehensive collection of data here. The USGS has a collection of photos from the 1897 flood here.

Minnesota Public Radio has a collection of current news and links here. Reminds me of the sort of organized coverage an expected annual sports event would get.

Photo from the MPR site.

Labels: climate change, Fargo, flood, flood policy, floodplain, media coverage, north dakota, red river, reporting, USGS