1966 blizzard provided 'North Dakota's most famous photo'
Sixty years ago, a famous photo was taken after a blizzard that stands today as one of the most extraordinary weather photos of all-time.
A man stands on a snow drift as high as a railroad telegraph pole after the Blizzard of 1966 in North Dakota (NOAA/NDDOT)
Sixty years ago this week, an unprecedented blizzard caused what a local TV station called "North Dakota's most famous photo." The picture showed a North Dakota Department of Transportation employee standing atop a huge snow drift that appeared nearly as tall as a utility pole.
This iconic picture was taken by North Dakota Department of Transportation worker Ernie Feland and features co-worker Bill Koch. A more widely used, cropped, black and white scan appears in the NOAA archives.
“This was at the Windsor exit; this train had been stuck," Koch told KFYR in 2022. "So, we walked over to take a look at it, and that pole was there. So, I told Bill, ‘Go stand by the pole, I’ll take a picture of you.’ So, that’s how it came about”, said Feland.
The story behind the photo
This photo predates Artificial Intelligence, so there's no worry that it's not real, but there are two important caveats about the situation. First, these weren't modern, power poles; they were railroad telegraph poles, which were likely shorter than 30 feet. However, more than 3 feet of snow and 70-mph winds during storm were said to have created drifts 30-40 feet tall, the NWS says, and there are other photos of trains, homes and bulldozers buried.
Second, how would someone be able to stand on a snow drift at all? Wouldn't they just fall through? Typically that feat could be only be accomplished with snowshoes, but KFYR explains, "Strong winds made the wet snow freeze over, allowing people like Koch to walk up to telegraph poles and cattle to walk out of fenced pastures."
While known by locals as "The Blizzard of 1966," this storm took place a month after a deadly snowstorm took the same name in the Northeast U.S.
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