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The close relationship between air and ground temperatures has been used to reconstruct paleoclimate conditions from ground temperatures. Unfortunately, the presence of snow decouples air and ground temperatures and obscures their relationship. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role that snowpack conditions play in affecting the relationship between air and soil temperatures. The annual thermal offset between mean annual soil and air temperatures is examined over a 12 year period (1990–2002) at Fargo, ND, using observed soil temperatures along with simulations from a physically based snowpack model. Early season snow cover does not necessarily lead to large thermal offsets. These snowpacks, while low in density, also tended to be shallow and therefore do not provide much thermal insulation. Winter snowpacks explain a greater portion of the annual thermal offset. While denser than fall snowpacks, the extra depth and longer persistence leads to superior insulation of the ground.

The flood hydroclimatology of the Grand Forks flood of April 1997, the most costly flood on a per capita basis for a major metropolitan area in United States history, is analyzed in terms of the natural processes that control spring snowmelt flooding in the region. The geomorphological characteristics of the basin are reviewed, and an integrated assessment of the hydroclimatological conditions during the winter of 1996 to 1997 is presented to gain a real‐world understanding of the physical basis of this catastrophic flood event. The Grand Forks flood resulted from the principal flood‐producing factors occurring at either historic or extreme levels, or at levels conducive to severe flooding. Above normal fall precipitation increased the fall soil moisture storage and reduced the spring soil moisture storage potential. A concrete frost layer developed that effectively reduced the soil infiltration capacity to zero. Record snowfall totals and snow cover depths occurred across the basin because of the unusual persistence of a blocking high circulation pattern throughout the winter. A severe, late spring blizzard delayed the snowmelt season and replenished the snow cover to record levels for early April. This blizzard was followed by a sudden transition to an extreme late season thaw due to the abrupt breakdown of the blocking circulation pattern. The presence of river ice contributed to backwater effects and affected the timing of tributary inflows to the main stem of the Red River. Only the absence of spring rains prevented an even more catastrophic flood disaster from taking place. This paper contributes to our understanding of the flood hydroclimatology of catastrophic flood events in an unusual flood hazard region that possesses relatively flat terrain, a north‐flowing river, and an annual peak discharge time series dominated by spring snowmelt floods.