AS I SEE IT
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
There is probably nothing worse than a spring snowstorm in North Dakota that dumps dozens of inches of heavy, wet snow across the countryside. While the moisture is always a blessing, the storms can really wreak havoc on power lines and power poles, especially when high winds accompany those heavy, wet snows.
And that is just what happened during the three-day blizzard that began on Friday, April 22, and extended to Sunday, April 24. First came the wind and the rain. But as temperatures began to fall, the rain turned into ice and then into snow. As the ice-covered power lines began whipping due to the high winds, power poles and transmission lines began toppling putting tens of thousands of people across northwestern North Dakota in the dark.
By all accounts, it was the worst springtime blizzard on record when it came to the damage that it did to the electrical systems serving this part of the state.