A blizzard in North Dakota, which dumped half a metre of snow on parts of the state earlier this week, has forced Manitoba forecasters to re-evaluate their spring flood outlook.
The Manitoba government intended to release updated flood predictions today, but forecasters will now update the flood outlook at a later date, said Christine Melnick, minister of Water Stewardship.
Yesterday’s snowstorm, which also hit parts of the Canadian Prairies, dumped 10 to 50 centimetres of snow across North Dakota, said Sam Walker, National Weather Service meteorologist in Bismarck, N.D.
Weather watchers in Mayville, N,D, said 48 cm of snow fell on the community, which is south of Grand Forks in the Red River Valley.
In the western half of the state, approximately 45 cm fell on Beulah, N.D., northwest of Bismarck.
“I would guess that we broke several records,” Walker said.
Interstate 29 between Grand Forks and Fargo was closed yesterday and until noon today because of the blizzard.
While the snow depths weren’t as severe in Manitoba, the blizzard did hit the south and southwestern part of the province. Several highways were closed yesterday and today, including the Trans-Canada west of Virden.
The early spring dump of snow will only add to worries of spring flooding along the Red River in North Dakota and Manitoba.
Before the blizzard, provincial forecasters were predicting the Red River would reach water volumes similar to 2009, which was Manitoba’s second worst flood in terms of water flow in the last 100 years.
On the positive side, the forecast calls for cooler weather over the next week in North Dakota and Manitoba, which should slow the speed of the spring melt.
