The snowfall that hit the Red River Valley on Monday was expected to rival the largest accumulation of the year, but it shouldn't affect the spring flood forecast, according to the National Weather Service.
Jim Kaiser, a meteorologist at the agency's Grand Forks office, said the forecast was for 3 to 5 inches across the valley from early Monday afternoon to this morning.
That would come close to the highest 24-hour accumulation so far this winter, which occurred Dec. 30 when Grand Forks had 4.5 inches of snow.
By 4 p.m. Monday, the weather service reported 2 inches had fallen in Grand Forks.
Kaiser said some areas could receive as much as 6 to 7 inches, but depending on the temperature, it may not have a big impact on road conditions.
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"It should be pretty heavy and wet," Kaiser said. "If we can keep temperatures around 34 (degrees), it may stick to the grass, but not the street, which would help travel. It depends on the snowfall intensity."
Area temperatures, which were in the low- to mid-30s Monday, were expected to dip into the high 20s overnight, Kaiser said.
Flood impact
Kaiser said the snow shouldn't have a big effect on the flood forecast for the Red River Valley this spring -- in part because of dry conditions earlier in the winter and also the lack of increased precipitation in the long-term forecast.
"This should be about a quarter to a half-inch of water across the valley," Kaiser said. "This isn't the beginning of a trend of snow system after snow system. Given the very dry fall, there's storage available this spring that hasn't been available for the last couple of years."
The weather service forecast calls for a 20 percent chance of snow Wednesday and more snow is possible next week, but Kaiser said the expected accumulation isn't out of the ordinary.
"There's nothing signaling to us that it's going to be an extremely wet spring," Kaiser said. "We do see a little more of an active stream, but what we've had is abnormal. What we're seeing is a normal spring pattern here."
Kaiser also said winds weren't expected to be too strong, which would mean minimal blowing snow and better visibility for motorists.
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Up until Monday morning, Grand Forks was experiencing its second-lowest snowfall total over a winter since 1941, according to measurements at the Grand Forks International Airport.
The weather service recorded just 9.6 inches of snow at the airport by Monday morning and 12.3 inches at its Grand Forks office near the UND campus. More wind at the airport caused the discrepancy, Kaiser said.
The snowiest stretch of the winter so far occurred between Christmas and New Year's Day, when the area received 6 to 8 inches.
But the expected snowfall between Monday morning and today would bump Grand Forks out of the 10 least snowy winters since 1941.
Bieri is a Herald staff reporter. Reach him at (701) 780-1118; (800) 477-6572, ext. 118; or send email to cbieri@gfherald.com .
