WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Canadian military was on standby Friday to respond to flooding in southern Manitoba as volunteers scrambled to fill sandbags against the rising Red River.

A spring snowstorm dumped 10 inches of snow Thursday north of Winnipeg, where some 50 homes were flooded and 40 others were evacuated, the Winnipeg Sun reported Friday.

Senior flood forecaster Alf Warkentin told the Sun it was an "almost unprecedented" situation where a major flood was preceded by a snowstorm and cold weather, which was helping ice form and slow the water's flow.

Officials at all levels of government were also keeping their eyes to the south. Residents of Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn. prepared to flee in the face of a forecast crest of up to 43 feet on the Red River by Saturday.

Canadian officials said the river's crest is anticipated to hit Winnipeg between April 12 and 17.