[dradernh]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

My cousin said they went through a full on blizzard in July one time in YS. Hard to imagine.

Not at that altitude and latitude it's not.

While July is the sweet spot for not having to worry about winter suddenly appearing in that part of the country, the possibility is always present. The upside today is the quality of our weather forecasts, which get noticeably better every time a new generation of weather satellites are launched.

My memory of traveling in the region as a child in the 50s was that the car always had what today would be called 'survival equipment' in it: sleeping bags, food, a camping stove, and water. Because we were out and about from spring to fall, and the distances were often so great that travel times could be as long as eight hours between destinations – and there were six of us – my parents always bought station wagons.

To get to our destinations in a reasonable amount of time, my dad always ran 80-85 mph out on the highways. Everyone else out there was doing the same. Montana had no speed limit at all until, I don't know, the 90s?, and enforcement was confined to the scattered towns we would pass through, whether large or small. By today's standards, it was a driving fool's paradise.

Of course, and given that the highways were narrow and laid out on the lay of the land (i.e., not interstate quality), if you got it wrong it might be a while before someone came along and noticed. Nevertheless, if you ever get the opportunity to drive US-2 between Williston, ND and Whitefish, MT, I suggest it's worth serious consideration.

The assumption was that you might have to wait a day or two – or conceivably longer – before someone could reach you if you got trapped during an unexpected blizzard. This was evident as recently as the blizzard that hit Colorado on October 24, 1997. One result of that storm was a number of people died before rescuers could reach them on rural highways in the southern part of the state. Weather is not to be trifled with in that part of the country.