Freezing snow and floods: ND and MN are suffering

[uppityperson]

A pedestrian walks near the snow covered earthen dike running across the 1st Avenue bridge in downtown Fargo Wednesday as weather conditions add difficulty to the ongoing flood fight. David Samson / The Forum
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/235203/group/home/

Volunteers who spent Tuesday building dikes in Fargo-Moorhead woke up this morning to find their work blanketed by several inches of snow, and more was falling, further complicating the flood fight.

About 3 inches of snow had fallen by 7 a.m. in the metro area, and the National Weather Service predicts 5 to 8 inches total from Fargo north to Grand Forks before the storm diminishes this evening.

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 3 p.m.

The combination of heavy snow on top of roads made icy from frozen rain prompted no travel advisories in many counties, including Cass....

Fargo South student and Harwood Groves resident Kathryn Worwa, a senior, pulls a sleigh loaded with sandbags from the pallet to the stacking line this morning. The line is working on the dike at 602 Hackberry Drive in Harwood Groves. Photo courtesy of Larry Gauper

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/235169/

As precaution, cities making evacuation plans
Area officials are asking residents to make potential evacuation plans – just in case – as a valiant fight continues to stave off the rising floodwaters....

One of Doug Stensgard’s dogs, Annie, looks out Tuesday over what used to be a 5-acre yard and an outbuilding that is now flooded by the rising Red River in Fargo. Stensgard built an earthen and sandbag dike around his home in the hope of holding back the floodwaters. Associated Press
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/235180/

[donheld]

1. freezing snow

is there any other kind?

[uppityperson]

2. Yes, we get snow that drifts down and melts quickly where I live.

Having 5 inches and freezing weather while flooding is a bit much. At least they probably won't have a tornado with this weather, so there is a positive thing there.

[uppityperson]

3. More, 41 ft, record flooding expected. Anyone in the area want to go help sandbag, etc?

They've been doing boat rescues in smaller towns/rural areas, and Coast Guard has helicoptered some rural people too. Of course the temp is supposed to be in the 20's tomorrow, but hey, if I were closer than 1800 miles...



Map you can zoom in on of F/M area http://gis.ci.fargo.nd.us/website/fargo/viewer.asp?TheValue=fgofloodstage&Cmd=INIT

blog: http://www.areavoices.com/springflood/

Graph of historic floods, now saying this will be 41-42 ft, my heart breaks.


http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/235306/

Residents urged to plan for worst
Oakport Township officials are urging residents to move young and vulnerable individuals to safe havens, and the Fargo City Commission voted 5-0 on Wednesday to approve an emergency evacuation plan.

By: Dave Olson, INFORUM

Oakport Township officials are urging residents to move young and vulnerable individuals to safe havens, and the Fargo City Commission voted 5-0 on Wednesday to approve an emergency evacuation plan.

Fargo’s plan, developed by the Police Department, calls for dividing the city into seven sectors. If any sector has its dikes or levees broken by high water, residents would be notified using the Code Red emergency telephone notification system, Emergency Broadcast System messages and warning sirens, Lt. Gene Anderson said.

Residents would be told to evacuate to higher ground and directed to shelters as needed, Anderson said. Police are working with the American Red Cross and the Fargo School District to identify shelters in areas above a 42-foot flood stage, he said. Once residents are moved to high ground, decisions can be made as to whether they should be evacuated from the city, he said.

Authorities are asking for voluntary evacuations in Georgetown, Minn., particularly vulnerable individuals, Clay County Sheriff Bill Bergquist said. The department rescued one family of four from the town Wednesday night, Bergquist said....

Michael Stensgard uses one of his family’s boats to get back to their home from the Red River on Wednesday near Fargo. Associated Press


http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/235307/

Moorhead woman arrested for standing on flood dike

Less than two hours after Fargo Police Chief Keith Ternes vowed arrests and jail time for people who trespass on the metro area’s dikes, authorities made such an arrest.

By: Forum staff reports, INFORUM


Less than two hours after Fargo Police Chief Keith Ternes vowed arrests and jail time for people who trespass on the metro area’s dikes, authorities made such an arrest. A 40-year-old Moorhead woman trying to get photographs from on top of a dike was arrested for the Class B misdemeanor and booked into Cass County Jail, Lt. Joel Vettel said.

The woman told police arresting her she knew she could be arrested for being on the dike, Vettel said.

“Our biggest thing is if she falls in we have to spend precious resources trying to rescue her,” he said, adding the arrest did not stem the problem, as reports of people on dikes continued to come in Wednesday night....

[EFerrari]

4. That looks really brutal.

:(