Precipitation in the Northern Plains, September 1996 through April 1997

Above-normal snowfall throughout the winter of 1996-97, combined with excessive precipitation during the fall of 1996 and additional moisture from a spring blizzard on April 5-6, 1997, caused the worst flooding in more than 100 years in several areas in central and eastern North Dakota, western Minnesota, and central eastern South Dakota. Many of the monthly precipitation totals for September 1996 through April 1997 were more than 200 percent of monthly normals at selected weather stations.