Dakota Datebook: Blizzard of March 15, 1941

March in North Dakota means basketball and blizzards. The former . . . a celebration of youthful athleticism and achievement. The latter . . . an often deadly reminder that the fate of those of us living on the Great Plains is often in the hands of Mother Nature.

The March 15, 1941, storm was an intense and fast-moving “Alberta Clipper,” originating in Northern Canada as a result of an unsettling...