National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

As we look back on the Record Flood of 2009, we are able to begin looking at some other aspects of this flood, including the consecutive number of days above flood stage. Based on the preliminary data supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) the Red River at Fargo has been above flood stage longer than previously recorded, and East Grand Forks fell just short of the record.

Based on the information provided by the USGS, the previous record for number of days above flood stage at Fargo was 54 days, just 3 years ago in 2006. The Red River at Fargo dropped below flood stage on May 20, 2009, remaining above flood stage 62 consecutive days. For the Red River at East Grand Forks the record number of days above flood stage is 56, set during the 1950 flood. The Red River at East Grand Forks remained above flood stage for 52 days.

Below is a table for Fargo and East Grand Forks, with the number of days above flood stage, as well as the length of time above moderate and major flood levels. It is important to note that the flood stage for Fargo was changed from 17 to 18 feet in November of 2006.

In the table below the term "Last Date" signifies the last month and day of the year noted that the Red River was above minor, moderate or major flood stage. Also, the tables below are based on data going back to 1901 for Fargo, and 1904 for East Grand Forks. Finally, a word of caution on the intepretation of the data. The USGS data are measured and recorded in Cubic Feet per Second (CFS) which is then converted to a stage value, using a rating curve. Contact the USGS for more information.

  The data are provided by the USGS as is; your NOAA's National Weather Service makes no claims as to the accuracy of the data.