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We are an Aussie family embarking on a move to Grand Forks towards the end of September.
Heading into winter over there is a bit daunting to say the least. We currently live in Canberra, which is cold by Australian standards. We get down to -4C overnight/early mornings but still get beautiful fresh days of 14C.
So, my questions are:
1. Do people actually venture outside during the day for outdoor activities?
2. What type of clothing is recommended? Do people wear thermals underneath every outfit? Are particular types of material better for pants, tops, jackets, etc? We have snow gear but I'm presuming people don't wear this to go to the shops LOL.
3. Regarding snow gear - what type of material/resistance is the best? In Australia we can get away with 12,000mm for waterproofing?
They might seem like strange questions but we've got winter sales here at the moment so hoping to start getting a bit prepared.
I would strongly suggest NOT buying winter clothing until you get there.
Of course people go out and do what they want to do..........For work outside, to ski and have fun.
Unless you are going to be working outside, all day all winter, you don't need to be dressed like a Innuit in the far northern arctic.
The secret is............Dress in layers, and plan based on what you will be doing.......If you are going to spend the day working in an office that is heated to 20 C, you will not need to be wrapped in sweaters and thermal undies. On the other hand, if you are doing a long distance winter car drive of 100 miles or more, having a winter emergency kit in the car is wise thing to do.
Winter driving....... I am going to guess that you haven't had much if any experience in driving in snow, or on icy roads..... Slow and cautious, no sharp moves, and leave a LOT more space between you and the car ahead of you. Remember that if your wheels and tires are "locked up " by jamming on the brake pedal, you cannot STEER the car. Most car now have ABS, which is a anti locking brake system. Ot is a great thing to have in winter driving conditions.
Learn to watch the TV weather report every morning, before you go out, so you know what to expect, and remember that conditions CAN change quickly. A typical comment is .. "if you don't like the current weather....wait 10 minutes .
Have fun, and note my screen name.. I have been doing winters for all of my 70 years.
We are an Aussie family embarking on a move to Grand Forks towards the end of September.
Heading into winter over there is a bit daunting to say the least. We currently live in Canberra, which is cold by Australian standards. We get down to -4C overnight/early mornings but still get beautiful fresh days of 14C.
So, my questions are:
1. Do people actually venture outside during the day for outdoor activities?
2. What type of clothing is recommended? Do people wear thermals underneath every outfit? Are particular types of material better for pants, tops, jackets, etc? We have snow gear but I'm presuming people don't wear this to go to the shops LOL.
3. Regarding snow gear - what type of material/resistance is the best? In Australia we can get away with 12,000mm for waterproofing?
They might seem like strange questions but we've got winter sales here at the moment so hoping to start getting a bit prepared.
Thanks.
Hi there and welcome to the Red River valley. You are in for an adventure for sure. We are flat as flat can be.....vs you are in the somewhat mountainous/hilly part of Australia.
But as Canadian Citizen says....do not buy any winter clothing til you arrive. You will be leaving your Australian winter only to get ready to enter our winter, which as you are aware will be much more severe than you have ever experienced.
The type of clothing, coats, available here is for the cold so avoid buying anything like that until you arrive. It will not be cold if you arrive in late September, at least cold by what we consider cold. But late September and early to mid October usually has some frosty mornings, but I consider it our best season as no more mosquitoes and trees are colorful and crisp mornings and pleasant not humid afternoons.
The biggest change (not even talking about culture and small town adjustments) will be weather. What you think of cold -4C would be considered a mild day in January here. From Dec 15 to Feb 15 we can occasionally get above 0C but not often... most days would have highs -20 to -8C and lows -20C to -35C. Our climate is one of high variability day to day, month to month, season to season and year and year. So you end up with lots of variety in clothing from shorts and tank tops in the summer to the usual winter gear.
For outdoor activities, yes the public parks do have skating and hockey rinks set up. They are usually flooded in early to mid December.... There is cross country skiing in some parks (mostly near the river)...as long as deep enough snow cover. But no doubt much of the activity is inside....basketball and hockey. Youth hockey is very big here....our sons do basketball in the winter. So there are times when it is simply too cold (either temperature or wind chill) to go outside much. We have a large garage so our kids play in there. It is a heated garage which is nice.
If you are going to be parking outside, getting a plug in for the engine or a remote car starter is useful. If cars are parked outside for extended periods...plugging them in to an outlet is nice to ensure starting in very cold weather. Really need temps well below -20C for this.
Wind is ever present and even a slight wind can add to the wind chill. Here schools will close on days with wind chills of -50F and lower.... but that only occurs once or twice a winter....and sometimes never in a winter. Schools have indoor recess if wind chills are below -10F.
There are several great sporting good stores in town....the biggest is Scheels and they have all the clothing you will need. For our kids....good gloves, hat, boots, coats are a must. For just school, we dont dress too heavy under coats, as they will be too hot inside school. Usually just a sweatshirt and regular pants, then snow pants and a good coat covering that. Hat good gloves are a must. But what we call thermal underwear and such are at least for us never used. But again depends on how much time someone spends outside. On the coldest days it isnt long....we drop the kids off at school....they run in we pick them up and then go into a heated garage and then home. So outdoor time is quite limited on the coldest days with temps below zero (F).
Great advice so far.... Another thing to consider is everyone has a different tolerance level for the cold. When I lived in ND, I knew people who wore shorts all winter! Although, I think they were more interested in being cool (no pun intended!) than they were too hot. I was always intolerant of the cold - especially when I worked out in it! So I agree with the others, wait until you get there and see how you tolerate it and dress accordingly. Definitely dress in layers. You will definitely need a good winter coat, but for everything else, just wait until you get there.
Great advice so far.... Another thing to consider is everyone has a different tolerance level for the cold. When I lived in ND, I knew people who wore shorts all winter! Although, I think they were more interested in being cool (no pun intended!) than they were too hot. I was always intolerant of the cold - especially when I worked out in it! So I agree with the others, wait until you get there and see how you tolerate it and dress accordingly. Definitely dress in layers. You will definitely need a good winter coat, but for everything else, just wait until you get there.
Agree every person is so different in their tolerance of heat and cold. But your body does adjust....what you wear a jacket for in October you are in shorts in March.
Myself I have a high tolerance for cold -- but I dont work outside either -- but I much prefer the cold to heat.
That said living up here for 20+ years, when I do errands....the amount of time inside a warm store is going to be more than the time walking from store door to the car. So I tend to dress light as I dont want to burn up in the store. Many also leave their car running in extreme cold (-20F or lower) when going in for a quick shop and usually when getting gas it is pretty common (maybe against better judgement) to leave your car running while getting gas so you can sit in warmth and not stand outside in the cold.
Clothing and what to wear in cold weather is all relative to amount of time you expect to be out. However I do keep extra coats, blankets in the car just in case it is needed. Triple A is also great to have as if you have any older car your battery may have trouble starting if parked outside a long time.
We are an Aussie family embarking on a move to Grand Forks towards the end of September.
Heading into winter over there is a bit daunting to say the least. We currently live in Canberra, which is cold by Australian standards. We get down to -4C overnight/early mornings but still get beautiful fresh days of 14C.
So, my questions are:
1. Do people actually venture outside during the day for outdoor activities?
2. What type of clothing is recommended? Do people wear thermals underneath every outfit? Are particular types of material better for pants, tops, jackets, etc? We have snow gear but I'm presuming people don't wear this to go to the shops LOL.
3. Regarding snow gear - what type of material/resistance is the best? In Australia we can get away with 12,000mm for waterproofing?
They might seem like strange questions but we've got winter sales here at the moment so hoping to start getting a bit prepared.
Thanks.
Personally I'd suggest that you do buy some of your winter clothes now on sale. Save a buck.
Choose coats that are warm, and thermals for your recreation activities, gloves, hats, scarves, sweaters. You can always add to your wardrobe when you are here.
For everyday if you are working in an office, you'd wear your normal business dress clothes, with a good warm coat, gloves, hat and scarf. For play, children often wear snow suits to play in the snow...Adults snow pants and jackets if they are outside playing or recreating. Otherwise, I live in jeans, t-shirts and sweaters, socks snow boots with my warm coat, gloves and scarf. I don't often wear winter hats, but I do keep them available.
Layering is very advisable. And a thin wool sweater over a shirt or t-shirt will be very good under your coat if you are just going to be in town. I'd wear or bring along warmer clothes if I was traveling any distance out of town in winter. Also, for winter driving an emergency kit is advisable. http://www.nd.gov/des/uploads%5Creso...urvivalkit.pdf
Just as a precaution, Do not rely solely on your GPS for directions...as some folks have encountered some real mishaps with inaccuracy which in winter can be dangerous being lost on a backroad in sub-temps. One such couple had to be rescued a couple of winters ago.
It's cold, but you will adapt. Things will seem normal in a short time, as you may acclimate relatively fast coming in Sept. which is normally very hot still. Fall will start getting temps that you're used to, and winter may be something that you find enjoyable. If not there are indoor activities available as well.
Welcome to Grand Forks. I hope that your family enjoys it. Feel free to msg with questions
Lots of fun videos on you tube about Grand Forks, here is one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQSkMjbIyBs
Also, be sure to visit Western N.D. next summer. The Badlands of N.D. are known as the American Outback....beautiful.
One thing I think is important is decent gloves. Unless you live in an apartment, you'll likely be responsible for shoveling the sidewalk in front of your house (as well as your driveway, obviously), and that is not so fun when it's below zero F. This is the first place I've lived in where you can buy gloves sewn inside mittens. You can also wear knit gloves inside large sized mittens (probably cheaper, and something you could buy there). But there are days when yes, you need something like that!
Also, one of the biggest issues with warmth is just the wind. It cuts like knives. There are days where the temperature in and of itself isn't too bad, but the wind is what makes it cold. Coats that can block the wind a bit are more helpful in that regard than simply fluffy warmth.
One common issue in the US is that the inside of buildings is climate controlled even if the outside isn't. So if you wear thermals all day, you'll be sweating to death inside. We lived in Germany for a while, and you could get away with it there (you were also outside a LOT more than in America). The Germans were always horrified at the Americans' lack of appropriate weather-related clothing. But that's because in the US, it is usually too warm to wear all of that inside your office building/home/school/church/shopping center/wherever, and putting it on for a two minute run out to your heated car is really, really annoying! If you really just are jumping from one heated environment to another, it's not necessary to mummify yourself.
If you ARE preparing for any time outside in January, though...yes, you do need warm layers!!
One thing I think is important is decent gloves. Unless you live in an apartment, you'll likely be responsible for shoveling the sidewalk in front of your house (as well as your driveway, obviously), and that is not so fun when it's below zero F. This is the first place I've lived in where you can buy gloves sewn inside mittens. You can also wear knit gloves inside large sized mittens (probably cheaper, and something you could buy there). But there are days when yes, you need something like that!
Also, one of the biggest issues with warmth is just the wind. It cuts like knives. There are days where the temperature in and of itself isn't too bad, but the wind is what makes it cold. Coats that can block the wind a bit are more helpful in that regard than simply fluffy warmth.
One common issue in the US is that the inside of buildings is climate controlled even if the outside isn't. So if you wear thermals all day, you'll be sweating to death inside. We lived in Germany for a while, and you could get away with it there (you were also outside a LOT more than in America). The Germans were always horrified at the Americans' lack of appropriate weather-related clothing. But that's because in the US, it is usually too warm to wear all of that inside your office building/home/school/church/shopping center/wherever, and putting it on for a two minute run out to your heated car is really, really annoying! If you really just are jumping from one heated environment to another, it's not necessary to mummify yourself.
If you ARE preparing for any time outside in January, though...yes, you do need warm layers!!
Agree with that... if shopping and just a normal cold day to avoid dying of heat inside I put on a light coat just enough to get it through. Loading groceries is fun in very cold weather.....coming out with a lighter coat you start your car to heat up and ignore the cold on your face and fingers until you get into the car.
I love winter personally way better than the heat and humidity of summer.
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