Posted in North Dakota January 20, 2018 by

In 1983, North Dakota Plunged Into An Arctic Freeze That Makes This Year’s Winter Look Downright Mild

This year’s winter in North Dakota has been pretty harsh so far. It’s even broken records and surpassed Antarctica in temperature with numbers as low as -58 degrees. Throw in the wind and snow and we’ve had some pretty dangerous conditions so far. This hasn’t been the state’s worst winter by far, however. Some may and some may not remember the winter of 1983-84 here in the Peace Garden State. That winter makes this year’s look downright mild, and here’s why:

We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
In late December of 1983, North Dakota plunged into an arctic freeze unlike any other.
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December 22nd alone had most of North Dakota with windchills at 100 below zero — and that's not an exaggeration. It really was that outrageously cold.
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Williston, ND had its record-breaking temp at -50, not including the windchill, and many parts of the rest of the state never saw temps above 0 for days.
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Not only was there this extreme cold that winter, later in the season in February of 1984, there was a massive blizzard that went down in history. Driving during that blizzard was nearly impossible with pretty much no visibility.
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Hundreds of cars became stuck in snow drifts, ditches, or otherwise abandoned during the blizzard. Unfortunately, it also caused multiple deaths due to exposure when people left their stuck vehicles and tried to walk through the storm.
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With such frigid temperatures and a snowstorm that is known as one of North Dakota's worst, it makes this winter look like a warm walk in the park.
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Check out this video for an in-depth look at this record-breaking winter:

Do you remember that winter? It’s crazy how cold and snowy it was! It certainly puts other winters to shame. Check out more of North Dakota’s worst winters by clicking here — and yes, this one made the list of course!