Blizzards and Floods Hit
The Upper Midwest

 Residents of the upper Midwest will long remember the frigid winter of 1996-1997 and the devastating floods that followed it. Hardest hit were the Dakotas, struck by 13 massive snowstorms and Artic cold. Tens of thousands of cattle froze to death, and starving deer ransacked feed stored in farmyards. Dairy farmers dumped tons of milk because they were unable to transport it over roads closed by the blizzards. President Bill Clinton declared the upper Midwest a disaster area as the snowfall amounts broke records. The city of Fargo, North Dakota, for example, had to dig out from under 116 inches of snow during that winter.

Then, when the snow began to melt rapidly in the spring, the Red river of the North overflowed, it's floodwaters reaching as far as 40 miles from it's channel. More than 100,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. At Grand Forks, Noth Dakota, the river crested 26 feet above flood stage, sparking electrical fires that destroyed much of the historic downtown. Damage from the flood was estimated at more than $1 billion. But few of the victims considered moving away; most rolled up their sleeves and began cleaning up. "I feel very fortunate," said one young mother. "My three children are safe. The rest is just stuff."

DID YOU KNOW....Nothern California and the Tennesse and Ohio river valleys also suffered heavy damage from floods in 1997.

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