Late December 2022: Winter Storm Elliott makes major headlines, wreaking utter havoc across a good 2/3 of the United States, bringing with it intense snowfall, near hurricane-force winds, and some of the coldest temperatures this country has ever seen. North Dakota is not spared the wrath, with temperatures dipping well below zero during the melee from Mother Nature. But if you think this was bad – “bad” as in cold – then you’ll be surprised to learn that, no, we have indeed had a much, much colder winter, way back in 1936, when temperatures plunged to -29… and then it got worse. 1936 was without a doubt the single coldest winter in North Dakota, and it was quite the nightmare.

North Dakota actually appears to have dodged the worst of the frigid temperatures during Winter Storm Elliott, but 1936 brought with it no mercy.
Wes Peck/Flickr
On January 22, 1936, the high temperature was -29 degrees Fahrenheit. It was thought that, surely, this kind of thing wouldn't last, and temperatures would return to their more average (albeit still pretty chilly) ranges soon.
But it was not to be.
Wes Peck/Flickr
Not for a long time, actually. An agonizingly long time.
January 23rd saw a high temperature of just -21 degrees. The 24th saw an astounding high of -31 degrees.
Bill Tanata/Flickr
...and this pattern simply didn't relent, not even a little, for five more weeks.

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The temperature during those 37 agonizingly frigid days never once reached above zero.
Geof Wilson/Flickr
It got close to topping zero, but it only ever hovered there and never dared cross the threshold into positive-numeral territory during this time. A cold snap of this incredible magnitude had simply never happened before - and hasn't occurred since.
The second-highest number of days spent below zero in North Dakota was 11, a record set in 1899 and matched in 1996.
Wes Peck/Flickr
On February 15th, a weather station near Parshall recorded the surreal temperature of -60 degrees Fahrenheit: the single coldest temperature ever recorded in state history. As if the "longest cold snap in North Dakota history" title wasn't enough, it had to go and be downright record-settingly miserable, too.
The intensely cold temperatures weren't even the ONLY thing residents had to worry about.
Western Area Power/Flickr
High winds and ridiculously tall snowdrifts ensured that motorists foolish enough to attempt travel were stranded. This winter storm resulted in the deaths of several North Dakotans, and it went down in the books as the worst ever... so far.

In perhaps the greatest display of irony of all, 1936 would also be the hottest year in North Dakota history, as a record-shattering, deadly heat wave would later overtake the entire region just a few months later.

So, next time you think it’s cold, just be glad that this isn’t 1936… after all, things could always get worse.

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