North Dakota winters can be not only an educational experience but a deadly one, especially if it’s the first time someone has been through one.
Williams County Emergency Management Director Mike Smith, who is originally from Oklahoma, said he got a taste of that himself when he came to interview for his current position in May of 2015.
He was a long-time resident of Oklahoma at the time, and, in May, they are generally planning things like camping and lake trips. He packed accordingly.
About the time he hit Rapid City in South Dakota, however, he ran into a blizzard. The suit jacket he brought for his interview was the only long-sleeved article of clothing he had.
“I only thought I knew what winter was for all my life,” Smith said. “I’ve learned a lot in the last four winters here.”
Smith has put what he has learned into a program that is geared toward educating newcomers to North Dakota about its deadly winters.
In North Dakota, the combination of below zero temperatures and high winds not uncommonly means that frostbite can occur in less than five minutes for bare, exposed skin. Blizzards can come up suddenly, making roads impassable, and trapping motorists. Black ice, so-named because it looks just like the roadway, is also not uncommon, and can cause fatal accidents or stranding in subzero temperatures as well.
Smith got the idea to do a winter preparedness seminar after a church asked him to do a winter safety program for their congregation. The pastor liked Smith’s presentation so well, he suggested it should become a communitywide thing.
Smith thought about his own experiences as a newcomer to the area and decided he agreed.
“I’m going to tweak the presentation a little bit, based on their feedback,” Smith said. “I hope we can get some people there, to remind them they really need to be prepared. North Dakota winters can be deadly if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Smith said he plans to include driving tips, as well as tips for preparing one’s home and car for North Dakota winters, and a variety of other helpful information.
The event is 6 p.m. Thursday in the Williams County Commission Room at 206 E. Broadway in Williston. Light refreshments will be available.
“We will also talk about how to prepare for a blizzard or severe winter weather that could cause a power outage,” Smith said. “And heating the home and the dangers of that.”
He plans to have a sample winter preparedness kit on hand as well, so people can see what should go into one.
“My concern is for the people who come here never having seen a snowflake,” Smith said. “I’m not an expert by any means, but I have consulted with them, and we will have some good information that people who are not familiar with winters in North Dakota need to know.”
