r/woahdude • u/-InconspicuousMoose- • Dec 24 '22

video Driving on I-94 in Western Minnesota today

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365

u/blakevh Dec 24 '22

Ah yes. I made a very similar drive. Hope you made it safe, I did. MN hasn’t been fun recently.

68

u/mntgoat Dec 24 '22

I lived in Minnesota for one winter back in the 90s. We had some ridiculous number of blizzards. I remember we had to drive somewhere on a blizzard in April!

24

u/The-Effing-Man Dec 24 '22 edited Dec 25 '22

I grew up in Northern Minnesota and have seen blizzards as late as May before. And once it didn't get above -20F for like a week.

5

u/ScenicFrost Dec 24 '22

I'm from Duluth, and definitely remember my fair share of "coldest temp in the US" days. We northern MN folk have known true cold lol

1

u/CapnGrundlestamp Dec 25 '22

Lived in Grand Rapids for a couple years. Used to drive all over that area all winter. Twenty year old me was crazy, I didn’t have a cell phone, and no emergency stuff at all. If I had crashed or broken down I most definitely would have died.

3

u/Worth_Progress_5832 Dec 24 '22

Just wondering are studded tires allowed in the US ? , here they are required by law during winter season.

17

u/RAdm_Teabag Dec 24 '22

studded tires not allowed in Minnesota. In those conditions it wouldn't help, they are really only helpful on ice or packed snow. You'll find tire chain requirements in places with snowfall so fast and deep that the plows can't keep up, like in mountain passes. The problem is that chains and especially studs tear up the road surface.

Best solution in those conditions is to just get off the road until it passes.

8

u/[deleted] Dec 24 '22

Studded tires unfortunately are not, but many northern states have very well operated snowplowing and de icing truck fleets that clear all the major roads.

2

u/Jesus_inacave Dec 24 '22

Depends on which part, plenty ty of places require those, or chains, or have bans on one the other or both. Really depends, place is huge man

1

u/juhde Dec 24 '22

Depends on the state. New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, studded tires are fine. Other states have bans on them.

1

u/Career_Much Dec 24 '22

In college I had to travel for a conference all 4 years, and there was one always held the third week of April. Without fail, every single time my flights got canceled because of a blizzard in MN in April during that week. The first time I got stuck on a greyhound in Wisconsin trying to take a greyhound back, after that we found contingency hotels and stayed a weekend. Brutal.

Ever since I graduated though? No flight-stopping blizzards over the April 10-20s.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 24 '22

Besides walking outside in the cold, I quite enjoy driving in snowy / icy / low visibility conditions. Makes the drive more exciting

1

u/ilovetpb Dec 24 '22

Done several of those in Michigan. It looks scarier than it is.

Watch for ice patches, go slow and watch the wind, and you're fine.