You know you're living in ND during the winter when....

With all the questions and comments from previous posts in regards to our weather here, I thought I would put a list together of what I think it's like to live in ND....the Winter Version. Enjoy!

You know you're living in North Dakota during the winter when...

• It's the only time of year when the temperature can be -1 at 7am, 8 degrees at 5pm, 17 degrees at 9pm, and will be around 22 degrees at midnight. A sure sign that a snow fall is in the forcast.
  
• You get hyped for that first snow fall, even if it consists of 5 or more inches, but within 48 hours you have forgotten your excitement.
• You are not surprised that there is another storm projecting 5-7 inches of snow only 48 hours after the first storm of the year brought 8 inches.
• You see snowmobiles driving through the the city.
  
• You see highschool students driving snowmobiles to school (in rural communities).
• Kids wear carhartts to school rather than snow pants (mostly in rural schools).
  
• If you had to click on the link above, I know you're not from ND.
• You watch the weather, wait for the weatherman to give the current temp, only paying attention to the wind chill... it's brutal, and it's all that matters.
• The weather drops from the 70's, to the 50's to the 30's in a matter of days... you bitch that it's too cold.
  
• The weather drops from the 30's to the single digits to 30 below zero to 50 below zero with wind chill, you bitch even more and swear to anyone willing to listen that you are going to find a job in a warmer state or work from home.
• The weather jumps from below zero to all the way UP to freezing point; you are ecstatic, and wearing only a fleeze jacket. No gloves necessary.
• Temps are below zero, you start your car and let it run for 20 minutes before leaving for work.... even if it was parked in the garage all night.
• You think most cars come with block heaters and sometimes plug your car in even if it has been sitting in the garage.
• You carry in your trunk the following: your own set of jumper cables (extra long cords), a small shovel (just in case you get stuck), a huge blanket or sleeping bag, and a tin can consisting of winter survival things --- candles, matches, chewing gum, chocolate candy bars -- only to find most of it deformed from the summer heat.
  
• If you own a truck, you also carry extra sturdy tow ropes and a couple bags of sand in the bed -- to keep you from swerving too much on the ice.
  
• You look forward to wearing long johns, snow pants, long sleeved shirts, sweat shirt, winter coat, scarf, mittens, gloves over mittens, two pairs of wool socks, and a winter hat with ear muffs.... all at once, just so you can go ice skating at an outdoor rink...or sledding in a neighborhood park.
• You look forward to coming home and thawing your entire body in front of a fireplace with hot chocolate, or apple cider (or Tom and Jerry) in hand.
  
• You have to remove the lawnmower blade from your riding John Deere and replace it with a rotating snow plow.... hopefully before that first snow storm hits. Hoping it won't be too much misery.
  
• Some men look forward to that first snow storm, just so they can hook up their snow plow to their Chevy, Ford, or Dodge... and go around looking for people they can help get out of a messy situation.
• You've seen the Northern Lights and Sun Dogs multiple times.
• Even though there is compacted ice from previous snow storms, covered by 7-10 inches of fresh snow that hasn't been plowed.... there is only a 10% chance school will be canceled if you live in the city.... but a 95% chance school will be canceled if you live in a rural community and 90% of the students take a bus to school.
• You think you can drink away the cold temperatures and bitter wind chill with heavily concentrated whisky-sevens, the diesel, or even strong Tom and Jerry's.
  
• Even though the weather calls for a predicted 2 feet of snow, 50 mph winds with -60 wind chill, the highway is full of cars traveling to Bismarck, Fargo, or Grand Forks to shop or attend a state basketball tournament.

Cheers, to a happy and exciting winter ahead of us (me)! Isn't North Dakota beautiful?