Remembering winter
By ALLAN TINKER
Local reports during the blizzards mentioned in Dakota Datebook in this issue of the Gazette showed the personal impact of winter storms on rural communities.
The deadliest blizzard mentioned in Dakota Datebook, that of March 15, 1941, gave a final total of 79 people dead. A story in the Gazette from early after the storm reported that 39 people had thus far been counted as dead.
The Sheridan County area was spared the direct hit of the storm, with light snowfall that lessened the intensity of the storm. One death in Wing was the nearest death reported at that time.
In the Red River Valley, winds reached 85 miles per hour; the storm was reported as a “tornado-driven blizzard.” At the time of this article, deaths in North Dakota had reached 39 with Minnesota at 28. Many people were still reported as missing and others were in critical condition from the storm.
