The end of April sees North Dakota firmly into the spring season. Winter’s grip is largely absent, and the excitement of warmer weather and planting gardens brings optimism and happiness. Still, the weather sometimes has a few surprises for the region.
Cold temperatures targeted central and western North Dakota, threatening and damaging emerging plants and crops with frost. The Bismarck Tribune reported damage to garden plants, though fruit escaped unharmed, as a “heavy frost” hit the region. Bismarck recorded a low of 24 degrees, with the cold spot being Napoleon at 17 degrees, where fruit-bearing plants were damaged. Bismarck’s low was well above the record low for that date, which was 16 degrees in 1903, though the record low high temperature of 31 degrees, set in 1909, would likely give residents pause as well.
Other communities in the region also reported cold temperatures. Dickinson and Dunn Center saw damage to fruit and oats, with lows reaching 20 degrees in both areas. The cold pattern stretched across North Dakota. Minot recorded a low of 21, Williston 20, Devils Lake 26, Jamestown 22, and Grand Forks and Fargo recorded 28 and 30 respectively. Weather observer O. W. Roberts reported that the cold would last through the remainder of the week.
In addition to the cold weather, some of Bismarck’s drivers made the front page for violating motor vehicle laws. Nine drivers faced fines for offenses ranging from speeding, accounting for six of the drivers, to driving without lights, and two who drove on the left side of the road. All appeared before Judge W. C. Cashman’s police court and either pled guilty or were found guilty and fined 10 dollars and court costs. Eight other drivers were arrested and ordered to appear that evening.
Bismarck’s police chief, Chris Martinson, reminded drivers that they faced arrest starting May 1 if they were still using 1924 license plates. He stressed that drivers had four months to get new plates and that there was no excuse for continuing to operate vehicles with expired tags.
Late-season cold snaps and driving infractions are nothing out of the ordinary in our community. Looking back at past accounts reminds us that some things never change, despite the passage of time.
Dakota Datebook by Daniel Sauerwein
Sources:
- National Endowment for the Humanities, “The Bismarck Tribune. [Volume] (Bismarck, n.d.) 1916-Current, April 30, 1925, Image 1,” Chronicling America, n.d., accessed April 4, 2025, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042243/1925-04-30/ed-1/seq-1/.
- NOAA US Department of Commerce, “Climate,” National Weather Service, December 16, 2024, accessed April 4, 2025, https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=bis.
