The fun part of North dakota is the extremes. The record low (without wind chill) is -60 F, the record high is 122 F. That is a 182 degree spread, or 100 C spread for the rest of the world.
I often wonder how much money Northern states would save on roads if it weren’t for the extreme temperature swings.
Regularly hit highs over 100 in the summer, lows below -30 in the winter. That’s an awful lot of compression and expansion. Not to mention the abuse of heavy plows and their blades catching upheaved concrete.
Should also mention the just, massive amount of salt dumped on them every year. Salt just ruins everything it touches.
Except french fries
Most meats, too.
It’s actually too cold for salt to be reliable. Water fully saturated with salt freezes at ~-21/-6(c/f), so if it’s predictably getting colder than that, it’s a bad idea to use salt.
Edit: They add beet juice when it’s really cold, but otherwise, it looks like they use salt :(
It’s salt but it’s not sodium cloride. It’s usually calcium cloride. That’s usually good to -30/-34 F/C.
I’m a Michigander. We don’t get ridiculous low temps like -70 or anything but, I wish most roads would be left alone. Plow and salt main Highways and expressways but, leave everything else undone. Then we can buy vehicles that can traverse the snow like sleds or good 4x4 rigs.
This would keep our roads nicer and would keep our cars from rotting out
If you have no traction it doesn’t matter how many wheels have power to them your still gonna slip.
Amoung the tons of other issues with just not plowing some roads. Comment reeks of brainrot.
Sleds we’re mentioned for a reason. Make it the job of the individual to decide if leaving here is worth the work or not
If your losing traction you don’t have a good 4x4 rig.
It doesn’t matter how good the rig is if all four wheels are on ice lol.
That’s where studs come in. Been there done that. Just takes more prep
Also this is why I’m only advocating for back roads and rural roads to not be plowed. And to have people prepare themselves for that kindve environment instead of relying on us as a society to try and stop the weather from doing what it does.
And if it’s to slick take the sled. Or snow machine
Reduce car dependency, plow side roads first because main roads clear themselves.
That’s not really feasible. School buses is one obvious reason (among many others).
Come on…we could have school sled dog “busses”!
It’s a little disingenuous to compare winter in North Dakota to Miami in this manner, and to include the windchill. I don’t know the average temperature in Miami in January, but I do know that this is not “strange” for North Dakota in January.
