John Wheeler: March does not always have blizzards, but it certainly can

FARGO — It is a myth that there are always huge blizzards in March. In the distant past as well as in recent years, March has often passed without any blizzards at all. Of course, it is also true that some of our most severe blizzards in history have happened in March.

Across North Dakota, the benchmark for blizzards may well be the monster blizzard of March 3-6, 1966, when one to three feet of snow with winds 50 to 100 mph built drifts 30 feet high.March is not the only month with a tendency to produce memorable winter storms. All of the cold months from October through April have produced at least a few severe blizzards.



Interestingly, the big ones are most common in three months: November, January and March. Of these three months, January is the month in which blizzards have historically been the most frequent.]]>.