Preparing for Winter Weather | Video

Sarahbeth Ackerman | 10/31/2012

With the winter coming up, it`s a good idea to remind ourselves how to get through it all in one piece. One of the first things that`s impacted by severe winter weather is travel on the roadways.

Snow flakes already hit Minot this past weekend.

"This weekend we saw anywhere from a half an inch to three inches in some places such as Killdeer. They reported about two to three inches widespread," said KMOT Meteorologist Amanda Lindquist.

But that`s only the start of what is yet to come.

"We look at about 40 inches, of course, it varies from year to year. Last year snowfall was on the lower end, but typically, 40 inches is the number we see annually," Lindquist said.

With inches of snow to look forward to, it`s never too early in North Dakota to start preparing for the upcoming winter months.

"Have your car prepared. Have your home prepared and make sure that you are ready to dress in layers if the weather is going to be cooler. Basically, just know whats going on around you pay attention to the forecasts and thats the most important thing you can do to keep yourself to keep informed and aware," Lindquist said.

With already seeing the first snow, North Dakotans have to start thinking about winter and that also means knowing the driving conditions before you drive.

"We do see a lot more crashes in the winter time. One vehicle roll-overs are prevalent, especially when we start getting accumulations," said Captain Gary Orluck with the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

While Orluck sees an increased amount of accidents during the winter months, he feels many just need to be prepared and use caution.

"We have to get our winter legs back under us as far as driving the main issue that we see with a lot of people even people that have grown up here or lived here all of their lives is that they have to remember to slow down and allow extra time."

And we can only hope that people will use these winter tips to reduce the number of crashes on the roadways.

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