(CSi)   It was 50 years ago, this week  The Blizzard of 66    made a lasting impression, of what extreme winter weather, specifically a huge blizzard, can have on people, animals, transportation, and the disruption of lives for days beyond the blizzard itself.  The storm occurred March 2-5, 1966.
The blizzard went on for four days, killing 16 people in three states, the Dakotas and Minnesota, with high snowfall amounts coupled with extremely high wind. It claimed tens of thousands of cattle and other livestock.  Winds 70-100 miles an hour drove the snow into drifts sometimes 20-30 feet tall, with snowfall amounts nearly three feet.

Kermit Sauer Family Film of the Blizzard of 1966 in Valley City North Dakota at YouTube

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Vehicles in eastern North Dakota were buried, and after the snow plows inititially came through after the storm, it created canyons, the snow that was pushed to the side of the streets. Where the plows hadn’t come yet, the mode of transportation was snowmobiles, with schools and businesses closed.
Rural resident were pretty much stranded in their homes and farmsteads, for several days, until the plows were able to reach them.  Then came the chore of digging out.  The National Guard soldiers helped  the area dig out  using Caterpillars and large loaders. Meteorolgists are in general agreement that “The blizzard of 66,”  was  the worst snow storm in the Northern Plains in the 20th century.