Spring weather

[Chadtuba]

Not sure how things are going for the rest of you, but ND and MN are going into spring flood mode. For me having moved here from the droughts of Colorado it is still a huge fascination, much as the mountains were for the wife when I took her to Colorado last spring. For anybody interested here are some pictures that I took over the last couple of days here in Grand Forks and along my 63 mile commute to work. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=4 ... 2eb5cf8d84

[SRanney]

There is some "junk" grass still growing here and there (planted by the previous owner - butt-ugly K-31 fescue) that I would like to kill with Round-Up before the bermuda pops up for the year, but (yup) it's going to rain again on Sat-Sun.

Watch that herbicide around your pond, bloke. Round-Up isn't good for fishes or the phytoplankton that make up the basis of the food chain.

I'm sure you're already careful with poisons, but this is just to serve as a reminder.

Steven "your friendly fisheries biologist" Ranney

[SRanney]

All of that stuff that bloke said.

Holy freakout, Batman! I didn't mean to set you off, really. I just wanted to make sure you knew that Round-Up was bad for fishes and aquatic ecosystems. And yes, I knew that 2,4-D was very bad.

How's your spring weather, Steven?

Pleasant, thank you. Yesterday was sunny and the high was in the low 60s F yesterday. This week is spring break (i.e., no classes) so I was able to play hooky from my desk and enjoy the nice weather.

The western part of MT doesn't get the same kinds of floods that the northern prairies do. We'll normally have rivers that over-top their banks, but this is generally a result of a rapid rise in temperatures that melt large amounts of mountain snowpack. Though it's been warm in the valleys, run-off hasn't hit yet, likely because it's not been getting warm enough in the mountains. Normally, the hydrograph peaks in early-mid June in western MT rivers and streams and mid-late June/early July in eastern MT. That may change this year, as mountain snow pack is ~70% of normal in the Missouri River basin in MT and 50-60% of normal in the Columbia basin.

This winter, ice jams in some canyon rivers caused some flooding well upstream of most large (for MT) towns. Warnings were broadcast specifically to those with homes along the river and anglers to be mindful of large volumes of water moving downstream rapidly in case of a jam break. Upstream of my house (which is not along the river, I assure you), the ice jam came apart rather peacefully over the course of a week instead of the feared-of near-instantaneous catastrophic break.

When I lived in eastern SD, we had flooding similar to the Red River of the North as in the original post. It seemed like, within a week of nice weather, the ground would go from snow covered and frozen to thawed and soggy. Water would be everywhere, including my basement.

Steven "hopes everyone stays safe, warm, and dry in Fargo, ND and surrounding areas"

[Chadtuba]

I uploaded a bunch more pictures today from Mayville, ND for those who are interested.

[Rev Rob]

I hope you enjoy your life in North Dakota. My sister lived in Argusville, ND and then moved to Florida. I preferred North Dakota to Florida - better scenery and much better people to live in community with. Keep us updated concerning the rising Red River. Thoughts and prayers are with your, your family and the good folks of North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota.