The early October snowstorm prompted several inquiries as to the frequency of such events in the past. An October 7 snowstorm in 1985 brought a significant snow to areas just north of Fargo Moorhead with Grand Forks recording 6 inches, Roseau 8 inches, Langdon 10 inches and Velva, North Dakota recording 17 inches. October 1-2, 1950 brought 3-6 inches to areas near the Canadian border in both North Dakota and Minnesota.
From October 7-11, 1970, some parts of northern Minnesota had over a foot of snow that even produced some road closures. A severe blizzard struck northwestern Minnesota on October 18-20, 1916. Although, Fargo only recorded a trace and Grand Forks around 2 inches, other locations east of the Red River Valley were buried under 8-12 inches of snow from that event. Plus, most of us are familiar with the severe blizzard that hit to our south on October 16-18 in 1880 that was made famous by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her book “The Long Winter”.