FARGO, N.D. (AP Apr 30, 3013) – The predicted flood crest for the Red River of the North has gone south once again.
 
     The National Weather Service on Tuesday lowered the expected peak of the river to 34 feet, down from the 35.5-foot estimate that came out Monday and the 37-foot projection that was issued on Sunday.
 
     The weather service says the water should stop rising sometime Wednesday morning. It will be the latest crest in Fargo and Moorhead, Minn.
 
     Workers spent the last week building miles of clay levees and placing more than 100,000 sandbags in Fargo after receiving warnings from forecasters about a possible record flood. Cost so far is about $2 million.
 
     Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker says he wishes the city could have saved that money, but officials had to follow weather service guidelines

Reported previously…

FARGO, N.D. (AP Apr 29, 2013) – The major Red River flood of 2013 is fizzling out.
 
     The National Weather Service on Monday lowered the expected crest forecast in Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., to 35.5 feet on Wednesday morning, down from the 37-foot prediction that was issued Sunday.
 
     Workers have spent the last week building clay levees and sandbag dikes to protect Fargo to 40 feet after an earlier weather service prediction that included the possibility of a rapid snowmelt and steady precipitation.
 
     Instead, forecasters say the conditions were ideal for a gradual melt cycle.
 
     The river topped the 30-foot mark Sunday night, which is considered major flood stage. A 35.5-foot flood would be the ninth-highest on record, but would cause little damage after recent efforts to build permanent levees and buy out homes in low-lying areas.