Blizzard Pounds Fargo, but Dikes Hold

Strengthening wind blew heavy, wet snow around Fargo today, adding to the strain on residents' spirits and on the patchwork system of sandbag levees protecting them from the bloated Red River. But there were no reports of problems from leaks or from wind-driven waves battering the dikes. “They say it's not going to affect the level of the river, but it just makes everything miserable,” one resident said.

“People here are expecting anything now,” he continued. The blizzard that walloped North Dakota and other parts of the northern Plains yesterday and today brought almost 6 inches of snow and powerful, gusting wind. An additional 7 to 14 inches of snow is possible, but “wave action right now looks pretty small," an Army engineer said. (More Fargo stories.)