FARGO, North Dakota (CNN) -- Just as the threat of historic floods decreased in parts of North Dakota, a major snowstorm continued to smack the area Tuesday, forecasters said.
North Dakota National Guard members inspect a levee along the Red River near Fargo on Monday.
Residents in and around Fargo, North Dakota, breathed a sigh of relief Monday as waters of Red River had receded.
But the snowstorm could dump as much as 16 inches of snow near the Red River valley, which could add to the level of the river.
The river, which at one point was at a historic level of nearly 41 feet, had fallen below 39 feet Monday.
By 7 a.m. CT the river was forecasted at about 38 feet and was expected drop to the 18-foot flood level by early next week.
Officials had scaled back the furious sandbagging effort in the Fargo area as the river dipped. But with more than a foot of new snow falling, North Dakota officials weren't ready to let down their guard.
"It's not over," Fargo Deputy Mayor Tim Mahoney said during a televised meeting of officials Monday.
"We're still in a flood fight, so now you just have to be careful and watch things, and we'll monitor as we go along." Still, he said, it's time to "start thinking about what we'd do if we weren't fighting a flood. So we're now going to start talking to different people to see when we can start getting things back online and get going."
The snowstorm was expected to hit the area until Wednesday. But the National Weather Service warned of another rise in the river level in mid-April as temperatures begin to warm and melt the snow.
Two deaths and 50 injuries have been reported in flood-related incidents. The injuries included victims of car wrecks caused by flooded roads, epidemiologist Kirby Kruger said. Other illnesses -- including mental health problems, carbon monoxide poisoning and cardiac-related events -- were reported, Kruger said.
President Barack Obama has signed emergency and disaster declarations for Minnesota and North Dakota, freeing up federal funds for the region.
The flood's crest of 40.82 feet on Saturday broke a record that had held since 1897, when the Red River reached 40.1 feet at Fargo.
The river approached the 1897 level in 1997, when it reached 39.6 feet, a level that many residents thought would be the highest they'd ever see the river.
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