It's flooding up in the north end of the Red River Valley in North Dakota and Minnesota after heavy rains and stormy weather hit the region late Saturday afternoon into the early hours of Sunday. Authorities warn that the Red River and the Two Rivers River near Hallock, Minn., will rise sharply and that overland water will likely cause flash flooding and wash out roads.
From 4 to 7 inches of rain has fallen in the past 15 hours or so, causing "significant flooding," in the area of Pembina, N.D., and Hallock, Minn., according to the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks.
Sewers are backing up in Hallock and one of the city's lift stations has failed, the weather service reported this morning. Water has flowed into the Kittson County courthouse in Hallock.
The small town of Lancaster, to the east of Hallock, is having flooding problems, with water over state Highway 59 south of Lancaster, the weather service says.
Basements are flooding and sewers backing up in Pembina, too. Farm fields are underwater. The weather service received a confirmed report of 6.73 inches of rain falling in the city of Pembina since Saturday evening.
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A string of thunderstorms moved through the area Saturday night, hitting hardest in the far northeast corner of North Dakota and far northwest corner of Minnesota.
Hail nearly an inch in diameter was reported in several locations and up to 1.75 inches across in Pembina.
A wind gust of 65 mph was reported near Northcote, Minn., in Kittson County at 6:28 p.m. Saturday and a gust of 58 mph was reported at Noyes, Minn., on the Canadian border in Kittson County at 6:08 p.m. Saturday.
Three inches of rain fell in Pembina in less than two hours, starting about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, local officials reported.
More than 2 inches of rain fell in Hallock in about two hours later Saturday night, causing street flooding.
The weather service is warning of flash flooding conditions across the region with rivers rising as the water runs off, with the possibility of roads washing out.
The Red River at Pembina rose 3.5 feet in the 24 hours ending at 7 a.m. Sunday, to 36.09 feet. Flood stage is 42 feet.
The Two Rivers River in Hallock rose nearly 4 feet from 3 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday, when it reached 807.69 feet. Flood stage is 802 feet, moderate flood stage is 806 and major flood stage is 810 feet.
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Only 0.22 inch of rain fell at Grand Forks between 1 and 7 a.m. Sunday, the weather service said.
The temperature of 93 at the Grand Forks International Airport Saturday set a record for the date, breaking the previous record set in 1988.
