At a Glance

There were 8 blizzards in parts of eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota in the 2018-19 season.This was the third-highest over the past 40 years.Above-average snowfall was observed in this area as well.

Portions of eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota experienced 8 blizzards during the extreme 2018-19 snowfall season.

Heavy snowfall and colder-than-average temperatures were accompanied at times by strong winds, exacerbating the brutal conditions and resulted in blizzard conditions in parts of the Plains at times.

The area covered by the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Grand Forks, North Dakota, tallied in at least part of the area during the 2018-19 season. Although blizzards are not unusual here, the NWS says that the area typically experiences just one to two blizzards each winter season.

As a reminder, when sustained winds or frequent gusts to at least 35 mph and considerable falling and/or blowing snow that frequently reduces visibility to less than a quarter-mile for at least three hours.

Several strong low-pressure systems tracked close to the region, allowing snow and gusty winds to impact the northern Plains and upper Midwest.

The 8 blizzards that impacted eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota this season is the there, according to Aaron Kennedy, an atmospheric scientist. Only the 1996-97 and 2013-14 season saw a higher number of blizzards in the Grand Forks area.

Contour on the map is seasonal snowfall through April 20, 2019.

In addition, both Grand Forks and Fargo have measured more snowfall than average. Grand Forks has received 69.6 inches of snowfall through April 19, which is the fifth-highest seasonal snowfall total on record there. The most snow in a season was 96.4 inches in 1996-97. Fargo has seen 65.4 inches of snowfall which is almost 16 inches more than an average snowfall season.

(MORE: When Spring's Last Snow Typically Happens)

Every month from December to April experienced a blizzard in the Grand Forks region.

The first blizzard this season was during on Dec. 27-28, which brought snow from the Sierra to Maine and blizzard conditions in the Plains. The blizzard on Dec. 31 was not due to falling snow but from blowing snow that had already accumulated. Blizzard conditions were observed twice in January, during winter storms and .

February saw two more blizzards in the area. The first was on Feb. 7 and the second was on Feb. 24. Then in mid-March , also known as the bomb cyclone, paralyzed travel and set new low-pressure records in portions of the Plains.

Although Spring had arrived, even April also saw a blizzard, , which brought more than two feet of snow to parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, along with strong winds.

The area that experienced 8 blizzards this season is a part of "," which covers an area from the Front Range of Colorado and southeastern Wyoming into the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa, according to a by Dr. Robert Schwarz and Dr. Thomas Schmidlin.

This highest concentration of blizzards was found in North Dakota, South Dakota and parts of western Minnesota, where an average of one to two blizzard occurs each year, based on data from 1959-2000.

The 8 blizzards this season is noteworthy even for "Blizzard Alley" and is another reason why this winter ranked as extreme on the in Fargo and Grand Forks.