The move clears the way for the city to seek state money and resources to help deal with rare summer flooding.

The river this time of year normally is at about 4 1/2 feet, but a wet summer and saturated ground have kept it high after a near-record spring flood. The Valley City Times-Record reports that the river this month could reach as high as 17 1/2 feet.

A storm Monday dumped up to 7 inches of rain to the north of Lake Ashtabula, on the river just to the north of Valley City. Homeowners have been scrambling to get boats and docks out of the rising lake.

Valley City declares rare summer flood emergency [The Forum]

“If my experiences in the Red River Basin are a good guide, there is already a certain level of concern with the high water in many locations and implications for 2012,” Mark Ewens, senior hydrometeorologist technician, said Tuesday.

Usually, a wet summer has little correlation to the following spring’s flood potential. But this is more than a wet summer, he said.

“With the current wet summer, following one of the wettest years regionally, even normal rain and/or snow over the next six months will dramatically increase the 2012 spring flood threat,” Ewens said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

Click the link to read the rest of the story.

All signs point to another spring flood in valley [Inforum]

The Broadway Bridge from University to the Burdick Expressway also has been closed and motorists are being asked to use the bypass.

In a 12:45 p.m. news release titled “Urgent” by the Police Department:

“Preliminary reports from the Corps has upped the releases from Lake Darling to 18,000 cfs as of noon today and will go to 22,000 cfs today at 6:00 pm, and to 28,000 cfs tomorrow. This could raise the projected elevations from 1563 to 1566 at Broadway Bridge, and throughout the valley by two – three feet.

All residents outside the evacuation areas in the valley need to immediately begin the evacuation process. Water from Lake Darling to Minot is moving with more velocity, so peaks are expected to hit Minot within 24 hours of the increased releases.”

For perspective, the Red River’s peak flow through Fargo-Moorhead during the record flood of 2009 was 29,500 cfs.

Story courtesy The Forum

BREAKING NEWS: Higher crest widens Minot evacuations, closes major bridge [The Forum]

Mayor Curt Zimbelman, speaking by telephone to KXMC television, said there are several areas along the levees where officials aren’t sure they control the dikes. Officials will sound the city’s sirens when water starts overtopping the levees, and he said that’s imminent.

Zimbelman made the announcement “so people really do their last-minute thing and be prepared to move quickly,” he told the station.

The National Weather Service in Bismarck on Wednesday morning issued a flash flood warning along the Souris River from Burlington through Minot and Logan to Sawyer. The Weather Service said that means that flash flooding is occurring or imminent and it urged residents to move to higher ground.

Story courtesy of The Forum… click to read more.

Minot mayor: Water to top dikes within hour [The Forum]

Note: While Valley Flood Watch focuses on flooding in the Red River Valley, we will be adding some stories about the historic flooding in western North Dakota for the time being, due to serious circumstances in that portion of the state.

From the National Weather Service:
Heavy rainfall is becoming more likely for Monday night through Wednesday, as a moisture laden, slow moving low pressure system affects the Northern Plains. It appears the southern Red River Valley should receive from 2-3 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts. This would cause rises on area rivers, and cause Fargo to remain above flood stage.

As of Monday afternoon, NWS has a projected high level of 24.4ft. This, of course, is not as serious as the flooding experienced this spring, however a river level this high does impact several bridges and roads in the area. We will pass along the latest updates as they develop.

Red River Outlook [National Weather Service]

MINOT, ND (Minot Daily News) – Disastrous. Unstoppable. Historic. Unprecedented.

All words used to describe what city, county and state officials warn is an imminent assault on all residents of the Souris River Valley.

The highest flows ever recorded on the Souris are approaching a city whose defenses are destined to be over run. Can the city hold?

Dikes currently in place, recently improved greatly to combat high flows, are now expected to disappear under the traveling torrent. The amount of water flowing with a vengeance down the Souris River Valley is forecast to inundate Minot to a level seven to eight feet higher than the catastrophic and benchmark flood of 1969.

Saddened with that horrific knowledge, officials announced during a late afternoon press conference Monday that very little can be done to stop the powerful onslaught. Massive secondary dikes that were built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to save much of the town from the previous high on the Souris this year fall far short of defending against the impending and rapid rise of the Souris.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Monday for all evacuation zones within Minot. Mayor Curt Zimbelman said all affected residents and businesses must vacate those areas no later than 10 p.m. Wednesday. Within minutes of the announcement residents once again began the laborious and hastened work of moving out of their homes for the second time this year.

Story courtesy The Minot Daily News… click to read the rest of the article.

‘It’s a sad day’ — Crest could be 10 feet higher than June 1 [Minot Daily News]

The contractor will make a second pass through each neighborhood a week or so after the first pass in the event that residents have not been able to move their sandbags to the edge of the road in front of their properties prior to the first pass. Bags will be picked up this week from areas affected by Red River and Wild Rice River flooding south of Fargo. Areas affected by Red River flooding north of Fargo between Highway 20 and Highway 22 will be picked up later this week and next week.

Those areas still being affected by the ongoing Sheyenne River flooding will be scheduled for pickup at a later date, dependent on the water levels receding. For further information, contact the Cass County Highway Department at (701 ) 298-2370

The bridge and portions of Second Street north of First Avenue and south of Main Avenue have been closed since April 4 because of flooding.

Water is still touching the Second Street levee, and crews will leave a small strip of clay in place as they remove the levee just in case the Red River comes back up 1 or 2 feet, said Dave Johnson, Fargo’s deputy city engineer.

It took crews working around the clock 3½ days to install the levee, so Johnson estimated it will take five or six days to remove it “if the water cooperates.”

Story courtesy The Forum… click the link to read more.

Crews begin removal of Fargo’s Second Street levee [Inforum]

In one instance, individuals pushed the road closure barricades to the side of County Highway 81 south of Cass County 16 to allow local traffic to drive on the road. In that case the road is closed because there is water going under the road surface and the shoulders are washed away. The integrity of the road surface is currently unknown and needs further evaluation by engineers. The Sheriff’s office is patrolling that area and will issue citations for driving around the barricades.

At a second location, County Highway 81 south of Harwood is closed for approximately one mile. Again, someone is pushing the closure barricades to the side and local motorists are driving on the road as if it is open. This road is closed for the same reason. The structural integrity of the subsurface requires engineering evaluation and the shoulders are washed out.

Cass County engineers visit these road locations every morning and replace the barricades, but within hours, the sheriff’s deputies have noted the signs have been moved to the side of the road and traffic is driving the road as if it were open. This is a danger to the vehicle occupants because of the washouts under the road surface.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking all drivers to respect the posted signage and know that Cass County is working hard to re-open roads where possible and to fix roads that need repairs for public safety reasons.

If you have follow up questions regarding this information, you are welcome to contact Sgt. Mitch Burris, Cass County Sheriff’s Office, working at the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) on flood related road issues.