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Table 1. Major Historical Floods in the Red River Basin

Year         Historical Floods

1776        Stages were about four feet lower than during the 1826 flood at Winnipeg.  However, the US Geological Survey (USGS) references a Mr. Nolan (1826) who stated this flood was larger than the 1826 flood.  Some evidence for this claim is given.  Elevation at Winnipeg, junction of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers is given as 760 feet (USGS).  It is quite likely that the river was as high in 1950.

1790        Stages were about four feet lower than during the 1826 flood at Winnipeg.  Year in which general overflow occurred (USGS).

1809        Stages were about four feet lower than during the 1826 flood at Winnipeg.  Year in which general overflow occurred (USGS).

1815        Water was remarkably high, overflowing its banks to a considerable distance at Fort Daer near Pembina.

1824          Listed as one of the worst floods along the Red River along with 1825 and 1826.

1825          Listed as one of the worst floods along the Red River along with 1824 and 1826.

1826            Elevation at Winnipeg listed at 764 feet (USGS).  Maximum known flood at Winnipeg, stages about 15 feet above the ordinary flood height (Simons and King).  Ice on the river reached the extraordinary thickness of 5 feet to 7 feet at Winnipeg.  Harrison and Bluemle report the flood level to be 66 feet based on the present stage datum at Pembina. 

1852        Elevation at Winnipeg listed at 762 feet (USGS).  Flood was higher by 1 or more feet than that of 1882 at and below Grand Forks (Simons and King).

1853        No farming was done in the Red River valley due to the floods of this year and the previous two years.

1861        This flood may have exceeded the 1897 flood.  Elevations are listed at Grand Forks and Winnipeg as 830 and 762 feet, respectively.

1871        This flood was exceeded during the 1897 flood.

1873        This flood was exceeded during the 1897 flood.


Table 2. Major Recorded Floods in the Red River RRB.

Year         Recorded Floods

1882        The highest flood since 1852 at Winnipeg (Simons and King, 1922, p.52).  Elevations are listed at Grand Forks and Winnipeg as 827.9 and 754 feet, respectively (Harris and Bluemle; USGS, O.O.Holmen).  Peak flow at Grand Forks: 75,000 cfs, April 18.

1883        Peak flow at Grand Forks: 38,600 cfs, April 26.

1893        Flood was most serious between Grand Forks and the international boundary (Simons and King).  Peak flow at Grand Forks: 53,300 cfs, April 24.

1897        Flood followed an extensive prairie fire in 1896 (Bradvick) and a wet fall followed by a severe winter (USGS).  Largest flood of record prior to the flood of 1997.  It included two peaks.  Elevation at Winnipeg listed at 750 feet (USGS) and at Grand Forks listed as 828.6 feet (O.O. Holmen, USGS).  Peak flow: at Fargo, 25,000 cfs, April 7; at Grand Forks, 85,000 cfs, April 10.

1904        Flood was most serious between Grand Forks and the international boundary (Simons and King).  Peak flow: at Fargo, 5,220 cfs, April 20; at Grand Forks, 33,000 cfs, April 27.

1916        Flood was most serious in the vicinity of Fargo and upstream reaches (Simons and King).  Peak flow: at Fargo, 6,200 cfs, March 28; at Grand Forks, 30,300 cfs, March 31.

1943        Peak flow: at Fargo, 16,000 cfs, April 7; at Grand Forks, 28,200 cfs, April 12.

1947        Peak flow: at Fargo, 9,300 cfs, April 15; at Grand Forks, 35,000 cfs, April 21.

1948        Peak flow: at Fargo, 3,380 cfs, April 10; at Grand Forks, 34,200 cfs, April 16.

1950        Flood included two peaks.  The first peak was 43,800 cfs on April 25th at Grand Forks.  The second peak at Grand Forks was 54,000 cfs, May 12.  Peak flow at Emerson, Manitoba, 95,500 cfs.

1952        Peak flow: at Fargo, 16,300 cfs, April 16; at Grand Forks, 23,900 cfs, April 20.

1965        Peak flow: at Fargo, 11,400 cfs, April 15; at Grand Forks, 52,000 cfs, April 17; at Emerson, Manitoba, 46,200 cfs, April 26.

1966        Peak flow: at Fargo, 10,700 cfs, March 22; at Grand Forks, 55,000 cfs, April 4; at Emerson, Manitoba, 66,800 cfs, April 11.

1969        Peak flow: at Fargo, 25,300 cfs, April 15; at Grand Forks, 53,500 cfs, April 16; at Emerson, Manitoba, 54,700 cfs, April 26.

1974        Peak flow: at Fargo, 4,150 cfs, April 14; at Grand Forks, 34,300 cfs, April 19; at Emerson, Manitoba, 43,500 cfs, April 28.

1975            Flood included two peaks.  The first peak was 42,400 cfs on April 22nd at Grand Forks.  The first peak at Fargo was 8380 cfs on May 12th.

1978      Peak flow: at Fargo, 17,500 cfs, April 2; at Grand Forks, 54,200 cfs, April 11; at Emerson, Manitoba, 50,600 cfs, April 18.

1979        Flood was second largest after 1897 at Grand Forks.  Elevation listed as 828.5 feet at the NPR bridge site of original gage (O.O. Holmen, USGS).  Peak flow: at Fargo, 17,300 cfs, April 19; at Grand Forks, 82,000 cfs, April 23; at Emerson, Manitoba, 92,700 cfs, May 1.

1986        Peak flow: at Fargo, 8,640 cfs, April 2; at Grand Forks, 31,900 cfs, April 2; at Emerson, Manitoba, 34,200 cfs, April 7.

1989        Peak flow: at Fargo, 18,900 cfs, April 9; at Grand Forks, 39,600 cfs, April 13; at Emerson, Manitoba, 47,200 cfs, April 23.

1993        Peak flow: at Fargo, 10,100 cfs, April 1; at Grand Forks, 26,200 cfs, Aug 3; at Emerson, Manitoba, 31,900 cfs, Aug 16.

1996        Peak flow: at Fargo, 9,940 cfs, April 15; at Grand Forks, 58,100 cfs, April 21; at Emerson, Manitoba, 66,700 cfs, April 26.

1997        Peak flow: at Fargo, 28,000 cfs, April 17; at Grand Forks, 137,000 cfs, April 18; at Pembina, 141,000 cfs, April 26.

1999        Peak flow: at Fargo, 4,900 cfs, Mar. 22; at Grand Forks, 50,000 cfs, Mar. 31: at Emerson, Manitoba, 58,600 cfs, Apr. 13.

* Recorded floods listed when discharge is greater than approximately 30,000 cfs and gage height is greater than approximately 40 feet at Grand Forks or discharge is greater than approximately 8,000 cfs and gage height greater than approximately 25 feet at Fargo.  This is a flood of approximately a five-year recurrence interval at both Grand Forks and Fargo.  Channel capacity at Grand Forks is 27,000 cfs and at Fargo is 7,000 cfs.


Table 3. Top 20 Floods: Selected Sites in the Red River RRB.

  Wahpeton Fargo Grand Forks Emerson Winnipeg
  Year Flow* Year Flow* Year Flow* Year Flow* Year Flow*
1 1997 #12,800 1997 28,000 1997 136,900 1997 133,000 1826 225,000
2 1897 10,500 1969 25,300 1826 135,000 1950 95,500 1852 165,000
3 1969 9,200 1897 25,000 1852 95,000 1979 92,700 1997 162,000
4 1989 8,370 1882 20,000 1897 85,000 1966 66,800 1861 125,000
5 1952 7,130 1989 18,900 1979 82,000 1996 66,700 1950 108,000
6 1979 7,050 1978 17,500 1882 75,000 1999 58,600 1996 108,000
7 1995 6,370 1979 17,300 1861 65,000 1969 54,700 1979 107,000
8 1978 6,250 1952 16,300 1996 58,100 1948 51,800    
9 1986 6,140 1943 16,000 1966 55,000 1978 50,600    
10 1951 6,090 1975 13,200 1978 54,200 1965 46,200    
11 1993 6,080 1965 11,400 1950 54,000 1916 46,200    
12 1965 5,690 1994 11,200 1969 53,500 1974 43,500    
13 1962 5,650 1995 11,000 1893 53,300 1975 42,800    
14 1996 5,400 1966 10,700 1965 52,000 1989 42,700    
15 1994 5,000 1993 10,100 1999 50,000 1995 42,400    
16 1943 5,000 1996 9,940 1975 42,800 1970 39,600    
17 1966 4,760 1962 9,580 1989 39,600 1987 37,400    
18 1984 4,710 1984 9,550 1883 38,600 1986 34,200    
19 1947 4,610 1947 9,300 1947 35,000 1982 34,000    
20 1944 4,360 1986 8,640 1995 34,800 1956 33,800    

# Breakout flow = 2,200 cfs/Total Flow = 15,000 cfs.

*All flows are in cubic feet per second

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