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My first memory of a SEVERE blizzard was the one in early March, 1966, when I was 8 years old. It stormed for 4 days. When my Dad heard the bad forecast, he strung out the "hay rope" from the barn to the house, and tied it up on fenceposts stuck into the packed snow that was already on the ground. The cows had to be milked, and it was calving time, so the cows had to be watched. My Mom and Dad and Uncle used the rope to navigate back and forth to the barn without getting lost in the terrible storm. I don't think it snowed a terribly great amount, but the winds, up to 80 MPH whipped the snow into unbelieveable drifts. Here's a photo, courtesy of NOAA: 
The image caption reads: "Standing tall on North Dakota snow A March blizzard nearly buried utility poles. Caption jokingly read "I believe there is a train under here somewhere!"" Imge ID: wea00958, Historic NWS Collection
Location: Jamestown, North Dakota
Photo Date: March 9, 1966
Photographer: Mr. Bill Koch, North Dakota State Highway Dept
Credit: Collection of Dr. Herbert Kroehl, NGDC " (Jamestown is about 140 miles south of the farm where I grew up.)
ANOTHER blizzard memory...
Back in early February, 1984, my infant son was hospitalized at Fargo, ND. There was a TERRIFIC blizzard, and nurses and doctors had to stay on, because they couldn't get home, not could the new shift get to work. There was a little grumbling from the staff, but we felt safe, knowing the hospital had emergency power, should the utility power fail. We found out a day or two later four people had died while trapped in their cars by an underpass, only a handfull of blocks from the hospital. Being "stuck" in a warm, safe place didn't seem so bad, then! According to the site linked below, 16 died in Minnesota from that storm, as it passed through, making the death total 20.
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