Well, it may feel pretty cold and windy up there, but the statistics don’t support your statement that blizzards and -40 days are the norm.
Minot ND which is the closest reliable weather reporting city (the Minot AFB) to where you are talking about, had one blizzard last year. Minot averages about 8” of snow per month for Dec through Mar which is about 1/6th of the averages for Syracuse NY. And, there is not a single month where the average daily low temperature is below zero. There is not a single day ever that the temperature was recorded at -40, and there was only one January snowfall in the past 10 years over a foot.
So, I am sure you feel like there was a lot of weather hardship in upper ND, but then we all think about these things with a little euphoric recall.
And you are relying on internet statistics?
We define a blizzard with zero visibility, limited travel, snow, winds and extreme cold. I don’t care what the net says, you need to live here.
Here are some ideas:
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=blizzard+williston+nd
And, we live in the Turtle Mountains, which has significantly worse weather than the folks in Minot.
See my post # 217 for personal stories.