2022 was a remarkable year for severe winter weather, breaking several records or near-records for snowfalls and low temperatures.
April 2022
A multi-day blizzard commenced April 12 that officially deposited 18.1 inches of snow on Bismarck. This broke both the 1997 and 2013 storm records. Blizzard conditions were witnessed across most of North Dakota, shutting down highways, businesses, and schools for days. Some areas, namely Minot, witnessed more than 36 inches of snow with winds exceeding 60 MPH. Another system passed through days later, establishing a new monthly snowfall record for April, previously set in April 2013.
November-December 2022
On November 10th, 17 inches of snow resulted from a near-record blizzard. Historically, it was the second-highest amount of snow recorded on a single day; only 0.3″ from the all-time record set on April 14, 2013. The storm spanned three days, November 9-11, yielding in 17.1 inches of total snowfall. Some areas around Bismarck-Mandan reported as much as 24 inches.
The year’s third major blizzard impacted the region the week of December 11th. The storm raged for five days, bringing freezing rain, heavy snow, and strong winds. By 6:00 a.m. the morning of December 16, official snowfall broke both of the prior 2022 winter storms, albeit spread across a larger timeframe. In the end, Bismarck officially recorded 20.3″ of snowfall, resulting in 46.2″ season-to-date – the snowiest start of any season on record; almost an entire season’s average of 50.2″. This excludes the April snowstorm, which would be part of the prior 2021-2022 season.
During a sustained cold stretch the week of December 19th, Bismarck recorded a wind chill of -49 degrees… the lowest since 2001.
Additional snow fell through the month of December, including storm-like conditions witnessed on Christmas Day, December 25th. The winter season officially established as the snowiest start on record through December 31st, recording 51.3″ of snow season-to-date… ahead of 2008’s 45.8″. Comparatively, the 2008 season was more compressed into a single month.
2023
5.6 inches of snow resulting from a storm arriving March 10th and continuing into the early morning of the 11th pushed Bismarck’s seasonal snow total into the third-highest on record, behind the all-time 1996-1997 record by 9.1 inches.
After milder weather melted much of the snow pact by mid-April, a system pushed through April 20-21 that pushed Bismarck’s seasonal total into second place at 101.2 inches, behind the all-time record by a mere 0.4 inches.
Even more impressive, Bismarck established a new record on April 11… the most consecutive days with a snow depth greater than eight inches, at 151 days. The previous record, set during the 2009-2010 season, was 80 days. It also set the most consecutive days with more than inch, previously 150 days set in 1978-1979.
Note: Two separate winter seasons cross into 2022 as a whole. The seasonal statistics from the April storm would be reflected in seasonal totals for 2021-2022, while November-December in 2022-2023.
