We have snow in the forecast for much of North Dakota this weekend.

Some areas might see 7 inches or more. Winter storm watches are posted for just about all counties in North Dakota along or north of Highway 2. I would expect this watch to turn into a winter storm warning this afternoon or so. evening.

In the Bismarck Mandan area we would only expect a light burst of snow (1-2 inches). However, winds are expected to increase to over 30 miles per hour on Saturday which could cause blowing snow and driving difficulties. Cooler temperatures are expected after the system relocates on Sunday. Single digit lows and highs among teens with more snow expected Monday night through Tuesday.

With the snow expected and the fact that it will finally look a bit like winter here, I decided to see how the cities of North Dakota rank among the snowiest cities in America. Our friends from Niche has just done a study on the same subject. The 25 snowiest cities in the United States of America.

Their data was based on cities of 50,000 or more inhabitants.

That leaves only three North Dakota cities eligible. Fargo, Bismarck and Grand Forks. Minot missed just over 48,000 people. The ranking is based on the past 30 years of average monthly snowfall totals as reported by NOAA.

Now, according to the National Weather Service, Bismarck, North Dakota registers an average of 46.2 inches of snow per year. We haven’t been close to the average in recent years. In fact, we have a hard time getting 20 inches in a winter. So things certainly seem to have changed at the moment.

To come back to 25 snowiest cities in America, only one city in North Dakota was on the list. Fargo arrived at # 18. No other city in North Dakota has done so. A little surprised that Grand Forks didn’t make it after living there most of my life.

Other notable cities that made the list.

Minneapolis, Minnesota was number 24 and Duluth, Minnesota was number 7.

I say “Let it snow”, we definitely need some humidity.

Cities with the same latitude as Bismarck