Residents in Fargo and neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, have been filling sandbags ahead of the expected fourth major Red River flood in the past five years after unseasonably cold weather delayed the annual thaw. But the river was still expected to peak at possibly its second-highest level on record, and flood preparations in the north-central United States follow major flooding on rivers in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Michigan caused by heavy rain. The National Weather Service on Wednesday trimmed its forecast for the maximum crest on the Red River at Fargo to 40 feet, from 42 feet, which would be the second highest on record behind the 40.84 feet it reached in 2009. The weather service expects the river to reach at least 38 feet at Fargo, which would be the fifth-highest crest at that location for the Red River, which flows into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada.
There is a slight risk of severe weather in the southern Plains today across northern Texas and southern Oklahoma.
Several snowstorms brought record breaking snowfall to parts of the central Rockies and the central and northern plains in March and April this year. April 2013 was the snowiest month of the 2012-2013 winter season in Fargo, ND which is very unusual since January is normally the snowiest month. But this season, only 9.2 inches of snow fell in January with 16.4 inches so far in April. This April is ranked the fourth snowiest of all time in Fargo. Denver has received 20.4 inches of snow this month. The snowiest April on record in Denver occurred in April 1933 when 30.8 inches of snow was recorded.
A recent interesting article from National Geographic indicates that the shrinking Arctic sea ice may play some role in our unusually cold Spring this year. A link to the article is available here.
The Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) indices measured pressure differences across the Arctic and the northern Atlantic Ocean. These indices have been strongly negative producing a weaker jetstream flow that allows for more wavy patterns to develop (high amplitude wave pattern) which brings down the cold air from the North Pole. In fact, the 2nd highest negative AO on record was measured on March 20th. The latest GFS model indicates that there will be another cold shot of air across the Midwest and the Great Lakes around the middle of next week with a coastal storm affecting the Northeast. The weather appears to be turning warmer for the 2nd week of May with Spring finally appearing across most of the Nation around May 10th.
George Wright is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist for Wright Weather Consulting, LLC. George is also a meteorologist with ABC News and Cablevision News 12. Our website is WrightWeather.com.
