The Blizzard of '97

The weekend of April 5th and 6th, 1997, a winter storm pounded the Northern Plains. The storm knocked out power and phone service for nearly every town and city in the Red River Valley, stranded travellers, and dumped freezing rain and snow into already swollen rivers and streams. For emergency crews already trying to fight the highest flood waters in the southern Red River Valley in the last 100 years, the storm couldn't have come at a worse time.

Late Friday night (April 4th), an ice storm began to coat every exposed surface with heavy, slippery ice. After a large accumulation of ice, high winds Saturday began to bring down antenna towers, power poles, and trees. Hundreds of power poles and towers collapsed under the weight of the ice, leaving tens of thousands of people without power or heat. Emergency crews were unable to repair the damage as some of the worst blizzard conditions in decades descended on the region. Information on the situation was hard to come by, as most radio and television stations went off the air due to collapsed antenna towers, emergency generators running out of fuel, or other technical problems. People could do little but sit in the cold and dark, waiting for the storm to pass.

In south eastern North Dakota dikes holding back floodwaters began to give way. Storm sewers, already nearly at maximum capacity, became overtaxed, and flash flooding became a problem in a some areas. Flood fighting operations in the entire Red River Valley had to be put on hold as the storm lashed the region.

In many cities and towns, lift stations failed. Citizens were told to strictly limit their use of water to avoid causing the sewers to backup. People plugged their drains and those with water seeping into their basements had to bail them out with buckets.

More Images of '97 Blizzard.