FARGO, North Dakota — The Red River appeared close to reaching its peak in Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota, Tuesday after the National Weather Service dropped its crest forecast for the third straight day.
The weather service adjusted the anticipated peak of the river to 33.3 feet, down from the 35.5-foot estimate that came out Monday and the 37-foot projection that was issued on Sunday. The river begins flooding at 18 feet but few structures are affected until 38 feet.
The river was at 33.16 feet at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
"Everybody's very relieved," said Richard Thomas, who lives south of Fargo. "The situation could have been quite different if we would have had a normal warm-up and heavy rains."
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.
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