Sunday, December 9, 2012

Winter Storms

Today, while shoveling snow (over12 inches) and watching the Vikings trounce the Bears...I thought about my top 5 most memorable snowstorms. I was living in Chicago (1983-1995) so I missed some monster storms like the 1991 Halloween Blizzard...Here goes...

Number 5...April 1979: Ada, Minnesota- A mid-April snowstorm cancelled our track meet and later helped contribute to major spring flooding...which at that time was called the "Flood of the Century". We got several days off from school to build sandbag dikes.
Sandbag Dike
Number 4...December 31, 1971: Glyndon, Minnesota- The "New Year's Eve" Blizzard made it a very quiet and cold night. I remember listening to the radio announcer tell stories of "Snowmobile Ambulances" bringing pregnant ladies to the hospital in Fargo to deliver their babies.
1970 Artic Cat Puma

Number 3...January 1975: Glyndon, Minnesota- After this 3 day storm called the "Super Bowl" Blizzard, I remember digging down 6 or 7 feet to try and find my dad's 1972 Plymouth Fury buried under a huge drift. We finally found the antenna and dug her out! What made it even worse...theVikings lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-6.

1972 Plymouth Fury III
Number 2...March 1966: Hankinson, North Dakota- This "spring" storm produced snow drifts 20-30 feet high.  I remember driving into the country for my piano lessons through a "tunnel of snow"!!!
1966 North Dakota

Number 1...December 1983: Leeds, North Dakota- The worst combination of snow, wind, and cold I've ever experienced!  We spent Christmas suffering through a blinding blizzard and several days of -100 below wind chills. It was so cold your spit would freeze before it hit the ground!!! I fondly remember finding the barn with my grandpa to help with chores, being "stuck" inside with 20+ relatives, and raiding my grandma's Christmas cookies every chance I got! 
 

 
 




2 comments:

  1. for number 2, i am shocked to see all that snow!!! 20-30 feet...could you imagine having that here in richfield?

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  2. I bet we still would not have a snow day!!!

    ReplyDelete