Do you need a snowblower in Bismarck, ND?
The machine for a Bismarck driveway
Gas single-stage
Bismarck gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 6.6 tons a winter on this driveway, but storms over 8 inches are uncommon.
Before you buy, check the intake height against the deepest storm above, and plan to clear before the city plow leaves its ridge of heavy slush at the end of the drive.
What a Bismarck winter brings
- Snow a year
- 51 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.9 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 5 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 92
Heavy, more than most snowy cities. That is about 1.4 times what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 6.6 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Bismarck
- Oct2.5
- Nov8.0
- Dec10.1
- Jan8.9
- Feb7.5
- Mar8.5
- Apr4.6
- May0.4
Snow worth clearing runs from October to April, heaviest in December. Start and service a machine in September.
Towns near Bismarck
Bismarck is number 3 of 9 North Dakota towns here for snowfall; Fargo gets the most at 53 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandan, ND | 6 | 51 in | Gas single-stage |
| Dickinson, ND | 96 | 35 in | Gas single-stage |
| Jamestown, ND | 98 | 46 in | Gas single-stage |
| Minot, ND | 101 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Aberdeen, SD | 144 | 43 in | Gas single-stage |
| Williston, ND | 165 | 48 in | Gas single-stage |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Bismarck, 3.0 miles from Bismarck. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.