Minot North Dakota

[Cookiely]

A friend of mine has recently been assigned to Minot ND AFB. He was born and raised in Tampa Florida and went to the university in Orlando. I would like to get him a housewarming present. In the trunk of his car is a spare tire, beach blanket, and sun screen. What does he need to survive a Minot ND winter? Tell me that winters in Minot are not as bad as I'm imagining.

[Windy]

Minot, ND norms:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/bis/climate.htm#Minot

[Cookiely]

Windy are you from ND?

[Windy]

Nope, fraid not -- I'm from all the way down in Nebraska. Just thought I'd point you to the climatological info. Looks like it can get reeeeal cold in Minot, but on average, it's normally a high in the 20s and teens in the winter (with the low normally dipping into the single digits, or near zero.)

You sure as heck gotta bundle when it gets down to -49!

[Aslkahuna]

An engine block heater would be a good gift along with an Arctic tested Parka. He should be prepared to encounter winter time lows in the -20 to -40F range at least and even colder than that plus life threatening windchills. He needs to be aware of the 30-30-30 rule. That means 30 kt winds at -30F means that your expsed flesh will freeze in 30 seconds. Not unusual conditions for Minot.

Steve

[Cookiely]

An engine block heater would be a good gift along with an Arctic tested Parka. He should be prepared to encounter winter time lows in the -20 to -40F range at least and even colder than that plus life threatening windchills. He needs to be aware of the 30-30-30 rule. That means 30 kt winds at -30F means that your expsed flesh will freeze in 30 seconds. Not unusual conditions for Minot.

Steve

Thank you Steve for the info. His brother spent time in Burlington Vermont so has some experience with winter conditions, but I don't think its anywhere near like what they have in Minot. He's going to help him buy clothing for the winter. Thanks for the idea of the engine block heater. I have no idea what that is but I'm sure I'll find it on ebay.

[Aslkahuna]

An engine block heater is a heater installed to keep the engine block and crankcase warm so that the oil doesn't congeal and prevent the car from starting. Also, need to get a tune before the real cold weather hits and make sure the battery is one that can handle the cold. Also be prepared for bumpy rides since the tires when real cold lose their flexibility and will have a flat spot on them where they were in contact with the road when the car was sitting still and will keep it until the tires warm up.

Steve