Blizzard Pounds Fargo, but Dikes Hold

(AP) - Earthmoving equipment and National Guard helicopters hauled sand today to reinforce leaky dikes that prompted evacuations in Valley City, a town threatened by the Sheyenne River, the latest North Dakota stream to rise above its banks. The Sheyenne was headed for a crest at around 22 feet in the next couple of days in Valley City, 2 feet higher than the record set in 1882. More»

(AP) - The bloated Red River might already have crested lower than initially feared, forecasters said today, welcome news for weary residents and others who had spent days piling sandbags onto dikes against an expected record flood. Despite the downward revision in the forecast, however, North Dakota officials still intensified their efforts to fend off the high water, deploying high-tech Predator drone aircraft. More»

Major highways closed as some areas get 2 feet of snow

(NEWSER) - A blizzard in North Dakota led to a 100-vehicle pileup on I-94, KFYR-TV reports. Drivers were stranded for hours near Fargo with visibility less than 10 feet in some areas. “It was a little surreal there for a while,” said one observer. No life-threatening injuries have been reported. I-94 is now closed, as is I-29, notes AOL News. Click here to see video of the pileup. More»

Highways closed, flights canceled amid sub-zero weather

(NEWSER) - Temperatures have plummeted across the upper Midwest after a storm pounded the region with snow and strong winds this weekend, the AP reports. Six weather-related deaths were reported as the storm closed major highways in some states, canceled some 1,600 flights in Chicago, and collapsed the inflatable roof of the Minnesota Vikings’ Metrodome . Areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin saw almost 2 feet of snow. More»

Rains, wet winter, expected El Nino delivering deluge

(NEWSER) - In the latest climate calamity to cause misery, a third of the US is expected to be hit with flooding this spring. The Midwest, followed by the East Coast, will likely bear the brunt of what could be record flooding, brought by heavy rains last autumn, a wetter-than-usual winter, and a predicted El Nino weather system. "We are looking at potentially historic flooding," said a top official of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More»