Description | The winter of 1987 produced above normal amounts of snow in the Red River Valley. The ground was saturated since the fall freeze, and rapid warming produced rapid melting. On Friday, April 18, 1997, the Red River poured over the dikes into the Lincoln Drive neighborhood of Grand Forks. By the end of the next day, Saturday, April 19, floodwaters had spread over large areas of Grand Forks ND and East Grand Forks MN, including the downtowns of both cities. 60,000 people were out of their homes, and downtown Grand Forks was burning. |