First-Ever December Flood Warning Issued for Red River of the North

A rare December flood warning has been issued for the Red River of the North in North Dakota.

The Red River of the North flows on the border of Wahpeton, in North Dakota, and Breckenridge, in Minnesota.

The National Weather Service has issued the rare flood warning following high amounts of ice and rain in North Dakota throughout the month of December. This is the first time a flood warning has ever been issued for the river at this time of year, according to one of the agency’s meteorologists.

“We believe this is the first,” Carl Jones, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service based in Grand Forks, told Pioneer Press. “It’s very unusual in the heart of winter.”

Flood warnings in the spring and summer months are not uncommon. This is because the river is fed by snowmelt, which typically happens as the weather warms. Rain storms are also more common at that time of year.

Over the past few days, the Red River Basin in the south has seen 1 to 2.5 inches of rainfall. Over the past week, 3 inches of rain fell, Pioneer Press reported.

John Wheeler, chief meteorologist at WDAY-TV, told the news outlet that this amount of rain in December is “unprecedented in the record book.”

The flooding is to particularly affect low-lying areas in Elm Street in North Fargo, and Wahpeton. The flooding should only be minor. Residents can expect water to remain in ditches for some time, ValleyNewsLive reported.

So far, the river in Fargo is expected to increase to 21.1 feet. The river in Wahpeton has already risen to about 11 feet. The flood warning is in effect from Friday morning to Wednesday, January 3.

The Red River of the North flows for about 550 miles. It flows all the way to Lake Winnipeg in Canada. Not to be confused with the Red River of the South, which flows through the southern Great Plains. The river is so named due to its reddish-brown, silt-filled waters.

North Dakota has been seeing some unusual weather this December. Some areas have seen its first ice storm warning in seven years, local outlet KFYR TV reported. An ice storm over the Christmas period saw thousands without power. The storm also caused disruption to the state’s roads, including the Interstate 29 which closed between Fargo and Grand Forks.

It is normal for rivers to change with seasonal fluctuations, but climate change appears to have affected rivers across the U.S. Not only are some rivers flooding at unusual times, but some are drying up altogether due to drought. The Colorado River’s flows, for example, are the lowest they have been in a century, due to extremely dry conditions.

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