Last weekend’s Eastern Seaboard blizzard generated snowstorm totals not generally familiar to those of us here in the Northern Plains. Snowfalls in excess of 2 feet happen far more regularly there than here due to the proximity to the warm, moist air hovering over the Atlantic Ocean.
The record snowfall in Fargo-Moorhead is 24.5 inches on Jan. 7-9, 1989. However, a few isolated snowfall totals have been reported over time from around our region in excess of 40 inches. These are the result of small-scale features of larger storms that have stalled over one location for a protracted period of time.
Usually snowfalls of several feet happen near to a source of moisture such as the moisture-laden air over the Atlantic Ocean or the Great Lakes. Mountain slopes, such as the Black Hills of South Dakota, can also cause extreme snowfalls by wringing out available moisture.
Here in our area we have neither oceans nor mountains.
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