Two blockbuster April snowstorms struck one community in just a few days’ time, leaving feet of snow. The late-season snow has piled up so high that it is setting records.
Nestled between the United States-Canada border and the North Dakota capital of Bismarck, the city of Minot, North Dakota, is home to approximately 48,000 people. This past week, folks in Minot experienced weather that may have felt more typical of January than mid-April. An astonishing 4 feet of snow fell there — all inside the space of a week.
The first of two snowstorms struck on April 12 and continued for almost 48 hours, dumping a whopping 36 inches of snow on Minot. The gusty winds made it feel even more wintry. Minot International Airport clocked in with wind gusts of 63 mph, which brought visibility down to a quarter of a mile.
On Easter, yet another storm targeted the region, this time bringing another foot of snow to Minot. This weekend’s burst of snow brought Minot’s winter season total (starting in October), up to 52.6 inches of snow, surpassing the normal amount of 48.8 inches of snow through April 18.
While these last waves of snow did not bring the entire season’s snow total to record levels, the additional snowfall did make for a spectacular showing in the month of April. Since records began back in 1885, Minot International Airport has averaged 5.5 inches of snow during the month of April. While there were some years that recorded no snow at all during the month, the highest was in 1970 when 35.4 inches of snow was reported in April alone.
With the most recent storm, which started to impact Montana and western North Dakota on Saturday night, the city of Minot was hit by a heavy snow band starting early on Sunday morning.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation (DOT) issued travel alerts on Sunday morning as heavy snow started accumulating on roadways. The alert urged motorists to drive at reduced speeds due to both the falling snow and gusty winds making for difficult travel conditions.
As conditions worsened throughout the day, the North Dakota DOT continued to discourage travelers.
Even after the snow stopped falling late Sunday night, travel difficulties continued across North Dakota into Monday. Dense fog developed across the northwestern portion of the state, once again bringing reduced visibility for travelers.
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| The above image shows dense fog that developed in Ray, North Dakota, on the morning of Monday, April 18, following a fresh covering of snow over the weekend Photo courtesy of NDDOT |
The highway patrol in North Dakota was forced to keep part of Highway 23 shut down, just west of Makoti, a small town just 45 minutes southwest of Minot. The police continued to investigate a fatal crash and, on Monday, cautioned that roadways remained icy.
The 2.5 inches of snow Bismarck picked up during the Easter storm brought the city’s April snowfall total to 21.9 inches. This set a new April snowfall record, barely eclipsing the previous record of 21.8 inches from April 2013.
This fresh blanket of snow came just days following a blizzard that swept through Montana, the Dakotas and Minnesota earlier in the week.
During this first event alone, Minot picked up 3 feet of snow, while other cities, including Bismarck, picked up almost a foot of snow. The 10 inches of snowfall reported in Bismarck on April 12 buried the old daily record of 3 inches set in 1991. An additional 6.5 inches of snow fell in Bismarck on Wednesday, just shy of the record of 6.6 inches from 1986. The National Weather Service office in Bismarck recorded a storm total of 18.1 inches of snow on Thursday.
Gusty winds made the feet of snow look even more ominous. The powdery snow was no match for the wind gusts exceeding 40 mph, which caused drifts of at least 10 feet.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol shared images on Twitter of a semi-truck that overturned on the slippery roads and gusty winds. The patrol also reported several other accidents from motorists driving too fast in the slick conditions.
The storm also broke records across Montana. A record snow accumulation of 13.9 inches of snowfall was set at Billings, Montana, on Tuesday, April 12, breaking the old record of 5.8 inches set in 1991 and earning the title of the snowiest April day in the city since 1955. The mercury plunged to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, overtaking the old record low of 15 F held since 1986. A total of nearly 11 inches of snow was reported roughly 10 miles east of Molt. The highest snowfall total in the state was an astounding 47 inches at Albro Lake in southwestern Montana.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that even more snow could fall across the northern tier of the U.S. before the end of the month. Another winter storm is forecast to spread snow into the Dakotas for the final full weekend in April.
