How much snow is possible from a single snowstorm? National single-storm snow records mostly come from mountainous regions or downwind from the Great Lakes where local geography can contribute to ridiculous snowfalls of six feet or more. The record single-storm snowfall in Fargo Moorhead was in January of 1989 at 24.5 inches. During that storm, there were two separate, two-hour periods in which snow fell at a rate of three inches per hour. Had snow bands like those persisted for longer periods of time, the storm total could have been higher.
Record single-storm totals from across the Great Plains region suggest that snowfalls of up to four feet are possible, although rare. The Halloween blizzard of 1991 dropped 36 inches on Duluth. A snowstorm dumped 45 inches on Gettysburg, SD, in 1994. A storm dropped 47 inches across northwest Iowa in 1965. Such a storm, though rare, could conceivably happen anywhere in our region under the right conditions.
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