4 Undeniable Reasons January in South Dakota Sucks

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I'm a big fan of living in South Dakota. However, I do not like living in South Dakota in January.

The 6 Types of South Dakota Drivers You Deal With Every Winter

Every year it snows in Sioux Falls. We may live in denial during the spring and summer, but it happens.

When the snow falls on the Falls, life in the city does not stop. We all still have to go to work, school, and the liquor store...um I mean go get snacks.

When you tackle the snowy routes around town you tend to run across six types of drivers in the snow.

30 Ways You Might Have Already Broken the Law Today

Most of us try the best we can to be law-abiding citizens, but did you know that you may have been breaking the law without even realizing it?

BestLifeOnline has a list of 30 of the most common transgressions. How many have you been guilty of over the years?

Out of 30, I am guilty of 19. And no I won't tell you which ones.

50 Things Men Shouldn’t Have After They Turn 40

One of the hardest parts about getting older is coming to grips with the fact that the things that defined you in your 20s aren't so cool when you're in your 40s.

To help guys who are on the other side of 40, BestLife has put together a list of '50 Things No Man Over 40 Should Own'.

Now I'm quite a ways past 40 these days (56), but I decided to see just how many of these 50 things I am still clinging to well past their 'expiration' date for a man of my age.

I'm a big fan of living in South Dakota. However, I do not like living in South Dakota in January.

1. January in South Dakota Can Be Pretty, But It's Still Cold

Andy Erickson

We all know it's cold in South Dakota in the winter. I've always thought January was the worst. It turns out I thought right. The average January high temperature in South Dakota is 22 F. The average low is 0. Those are just the averages. Last year in January Sioux Falls had 5 days with high temps in single digits. Considering all of this, it's strange to think we live here intentionally.

2. Putting Away Christmas Lights and Decorations

Andy Erickson

As I write this I am sitting on the couch in my living room looking at the mostly undecorated Christmas tree. The storage bins that hold all of our decorations are half-filled at the top of the stairs. I love the holiday season. Even though it is chaotic, stressful, and expensive, it is a fun time spent with friends and family. Packing that stuff up feels like closing the lid on the holidays' coffin.

3. January in South Dakota May Mean You Might Get Stuck For Days

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The second Blizzard of January 1997 was the worst one I can remember. I was living in Brookings at the time taking a semester off from college and working. It enveloped virtually the entire state in rolling hills of snow.

DEEP DIVE: Flashback: The Epic January 1997 Blizzard That Crippled South Dakota

Though it only dropped 2-3 inches of snow in Sioux Falls, I recall driving down I-90 on my way to Beresford when a lane had finally been carved into each side of the interstate. In places, it resembled the trench on the Death Star. The snow was probably ten feet or higher on either side of my car in places between the Brookings and Madison exits. This was also the storm that trapped a woman in her car for almost two days near Webster in -70 wind chills before she was rescued.

4. No Holidays for At Least 5 Months

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If you work for a government institution, a bank, a school, or go to school, you have a couple of holidays built-in with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day. But for most of us, who don't get those days off, we don't have a 3-day weekend until Memorial Day and that seems like a pipe dream when the high temp is 2.

Source: 4 Reasons January Sucks in South Dakota

Filed Under: Offbeat, South Dakota, Weather

Categories: Articles, South Dakota