The Flood of 2009?

As Spring draws closer and closer, there's an uneasy feeling around Grand Forks, as well as everywhere else along the Red River. That feeling is understandable, because it's becoming more apparent that the Red is gonna rise again. A lot of residents knew it was bad news when we had record setting precipitation in the Fall. Then came the first blizzard of Winter, along with a ton of snow. After that was the bitter cold, which doesn't really affect the flood outlook as much as it just pisses us all off. It appears Winter made its final roar this month with Blizzard Coyote and gave us all the middle finger by dumping even more snow on us. Now the forecast calls for warmer temperatures, it looks like highs in the 40s next week. That's great and all, but it also means it's time to start thinking about that 5-letter word no Grand Forks resident ever wants to hear: Flood.

The National Weather Service in Grand Forks released their latest flood outlook probabilities and gave a 50% chance of the river reaching 50 feet. They also gave a 10%-20% chance of flood levels exceeding the 54.4 foot record level reached in 1997. Keep in mind that those are pretty slim odds. Even if the river did exceed that level, the levee is good up to 60 feet. The odds of us seeing anything even REMOTELY close to the nightmare of 1997 are extremely slim.


Here's some perspective on flood levels for Grand Forks:

60.0		Top of the levee constructed by Corps of Engineers for City of Grand Forks.
54.4		Record flood level. 22 April 1997...from floodmarks.
53.0		Top of the rails on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Bridge over the Red River.
52.6		Water on Gateway Drive approach to Kennedy Bridge in East Grand Forks.
47.0		Begin Railroad closure if water is expected to rise to over 50 feet.
46.2		Water on Demers Avenue at Sorlie Bridge.
46.0		Major Flood Stage.
45.0		Sorlie Bridge...Demers Avenue is closed. Top of the elevation of the low level levee protecting Riverside Park.
44.9		Water on East Grand Forks approach to the Point Bridge.
42.0		Road entering Riverside Park is closed.
41.5		Flood gates on English Coulee are closed, pump station and diversion gates are activated.
40.0		Moderate flood stage. Extensive flooding along greenway for Grand Forks.
38.0		Flood gates are closed in Grand Forks and storm water pumping stations are activated.
34.0		East Grand Forks water encroaching 4th St underpass of Highway 2.
33.0		Agricultural flooding between Oslo and Grand Forks. Agricultural damage begins at river mile 271 - 296.
28.0		Flood warning stage...minor. Bank full stage.
27.0		Forecast Service Stage.

(source: NWS-GF)

This is the page you want to keep your eyes on for details about flood levels. Other good sites to keep you updated are the Grand Forks Herald website and National Weather Service- Grand Forks Office's website.

Don't start panicking, but do keep informed. I will continue to follow the flood and post pictures up showing the different stages the river reaches this spring.

Until then, enjoy the warmer weather! We can actually go outside again!


Also, for those with short memories, I found a USGS site with pictures from 2006's flood.

Blizzard "Coyote" Howls; UND Doesn't Hear It

It's March right? Okay...just making sure. Winter will not go quietly, let's just hope this is its final roar. What a mess, I couldn't even park in my spot after returning from class because a giant drift filled it in. Oh and speaking of class, I like how every other college/university in the area has canceled classes and activities for the day but UND still feels the need to have a "business as usual" attitude during this. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the last time UND shut down was for the flood. I don't think UND would close if Hell itself froze over. I don't know why they're so hesitant to close for a day during a blizzard, but they're unnecessarily putting students' and employees' lives in danger. Will everything really fall apart if they close up shop for one day? I had enough trouble getting to class living in Grand Forks, I couldn't imagine what travel is like in rural areas...i would assume that it's nonexistant at the moment.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol issued a no-travel advisory for our entire area, but still UND just chugs along like it was any other day. I do realize that professors have canceled class at their own discretion, but some don't...and I even had a test today that I trekked through this mess to get to. You would think that city employees trying to keep the roads clean as well as police officers trying to keep the roads safe would appreciate it if more people stayed off the roads. UND definitely is not doing their part, and I just do not understand why. Why are they so reluctant? NDSU closed for this most recent blizzard as well as for the blizzard that crippled the area in December and UND didn't even blink.


Anyways...here's a view of the mess from my window. This picture really doesn't do this storm justice, but I don't anticipate going outside for the rest of the day so this will have to do. The first day of Spring is in 10 days, surely the snow will be gone by then! .....i'm going back to bed.



Also if you're curious, the Grand Forks Herald is the group responsible for naming the blizzards in our area. They named this one Coyote in honor of Thompson resident Nancy Yoshida's lead dog. Yoshida is competing in this year's Iditarod race in Alaska. The other two blizzards were named Barack and Allie.


--UPDATE--

Of course not even an hour after I post this UND decides to shut down after all:

UND: No Classes After 3:30 p.m. Tuesday; Facilities Building Services Technicians Should Report At 4 a.m. Wednesday Instead Of 11 p.m. Tuesday

Due to weather conditions, UND will not hold classes after 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10. Facilities Building Services Technicians should report at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning instead of 11 p..m. Tuesday night. All individuals are urged to exercise good judgment when making decisions about travel.

The UND Concert Choir performance scheduled for this evening has been canceled.

Tonight's basketball games at the Betty have been rescheduled to Thursday. The games originally scheduled for Thursday night will be played Saturday at noon.

--30--


Clearly they closed down as a result of reading this blog.

Probably not...but this is still too little, too late, the vast majority of students have already had their classes and there are very few with classes after 3:30. I will consider this them admitting they made a mistake by opening at all today...but like I said, too little too late.

Frozen Solid

Hey everyone, I'm still alive if anyone was wondering...just hibernating until we thaw out which still feels like it's very far away. I can't believe it's almost March and still this cold...well, yes, actually I can. North Dakotans aren't surprised by much when it comes to cold.

I promise when it eventually thaws I will be back on the paths and taking more pictures. I'm going to be making some changes as well to keep things fresh, so hopefully you'll check back when the temperature gets back above freezing.

Stay warm people!


JP

Trip 19 -- Fall!

Firstly, I'll spare you all any excuses for not updating in a long time...school, work, blah blah blah. I know you don't want to hear it. Updates will be more scarce as I said, but I'm going to really try to step it up before we start seeing that four-letter-word start falling from the sky. I really wanted to get out there today because the forecast for the weekend doesn't look too forgiving:

Today was a really nice day outside, except a little too windy and chilly maybe. Fall is great, the turning leaves and lack of bugs...but then you just know winter is coming real soon. Too soon.



I hate mushrooms, they're disgusting and I really don't understand how people can eat them. I'd rather put cardboard on my pizza than any kind of fungus.



No, this isn't my helmet and no I didn't steal it...but some poor girl named Amelia is probably missing her Bratz helmet. Hopefully it finds its way back to her. It looks like it has some battle scars too.




Thanks for reading, and try to not get too depressed during the upcoming monsoon. I've been meaning to get pictures of my bike up here, so I'll do that soon. I'll also need some suggestions for a new mountain bike for next year if anyone wants to throw me some.

Temp: 55

Yeah I Know

I know this blog has been dead as of late...but I do have a legitimate excuse. I promise. I am just getting over a nasty cold that plagued me the entire weekend..and with two tests scheduled this week, on top of my already terrible time management skills--that all adds up to a dead blog.

But I'm not giving up, I promise I will pick up the pace.

Also, I wanted to mention this story in the Herald.

A bicyclist was treated for minor injuries at Altru Hospital after being assaulted and robbed late Saturday night on the Columbia Road overpass in Grand Forks.

Benedict Smith, 37, Grand Forks, told police he was riding north on the overpass at about 10 p.m. when three male subjects confronted him and demanded his wallet, according to the Grand Forks Police Department. When Smith refused, they threw him off his bike, punched and kicked him and stole the backpack he was wearing.

The backpack is blue and black and contained Smith’s prescription medication, a TRAC phone, clothing and other miscellaneous items, according to police.

Smith was only able to describe one of the suspects, a tall Hispanic man wearing a dark shirt. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Police Department at (701) 787-8000.

I was pretty upset to read that this morning, it's a shame when stuff like this happens. But it is a reminder that Grand Forks isn't the safe little haven in friendly North Dakota that most like to believe. The crime is definitely here. Be careful, people.

Trip 18 -- Uphill Both Ways...

Remember when I said the posts might get shorter and lack substance once school starts? Well, this is one of those posts unfortunately. It sucks getting older in college, the classes definitely get tougher. I already have a test on Tuesday! ARGHHHHH

I did go on a ride today, but it was just to school and back, so I won't bore you with the details. I do not have class on Fridays so I'll be definitely hitting the trails this weekend.

I'll actually post pictures of my bike this weekend, as per a reader's suggestion. But don't expect anything remotely fancy.

Oh, and NFL starts tomorrow...awesome.

Trip 17 -- Saying Goodbye to the Heat

This trip actually happened yesterday, when I left it was almost 90 degrees and windy (of course). I rode all the way over to the west side of town to visit some friends and while I was there, the cold front started to move in. Right when I decided to leave it started to rain, but it only lasted a few minutes. On my way home I could see that it was going to get worse, it was very dark to the south...so I decided to pick up the pace a little bit. Luckily I made it home just in time, a few minutes after I got home it started pouring and the wind increased. That would've been a nightmare to ride in...not to mention the dangerous lightning.

Well, as I look at the forecast it looks like it's gonna be cool for a while. Today's high is only 57 degrees (though the current temperature is 61 according to the NWS website). Pretty much the exact opposite of yesterday afternoon. I don't know if we're done with the heat for the year but it looks like we're done with it for at least a week. That's fine with me, I prefer this kind of weather.

This is from the University Ave. overpass in between downpours.



A view of a bunch of trains from the Columbia overpass over DeMers.



Hopefully we're done with the 80+ degree heat, I don't know if I'm alone here, but I prefer the cooler weather... I said cooler not cold. Winter can wait.

Time: N/A since I spent a while hanging out my friend's place.
Temp: 88 at the start and about 65 at the end





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