Is North Dakota wind rattling your windows, and somehow leaving a layer of ice inside your house this winter? You’re not alone.
Welcome to winter at Minot AFB. When you live in a place where the air hurts your face, weird things are bound to happen, and frozen-shut windows are one of them.
Every year, base Facebook pages fill up with newcomers asking, “Why are my windows frozen?” followed closely by “Is my house broken?” For those not used to this climate, it can be a real shocker. But based on the annual flood of posts and comments, we can safely say this is a pretty normal way of life here. So don’t panic.
Why does it happen? Believe it or not, icy windows usually mean your windows are doing their job. The warm air inside your home presses up against the freezing-cold glass, turning into condensation. That moisture doesn’t stand a chance. The window is well below freezing, so the water vapor freezes on contact and can slowly build up over the winter as more warm air condenses and joins the party.
So… what can you do about it? A call to the base housing office a few years ago resulted in this advice: wipe down your windows daily once the weather gets breezy so condensation doesn’t have time to freeze. Now, maybe it’s just us, but running around wiping every window in the house every single day doesn’t feel realistic.
So you have options: Embrace it. Accept that ice happens and clean it up once temperatures rise, before you end up with window-sill puddles and future mildew problems.
Try a few hacks (if the ice is driving you crazy).
A quick disclaimer: The Northern Sentry takes zero responsibility for any of these “hacks.” Proceed at your own risk, with your own towels.
Some residents swear by plastic window insulation kits to add an extra barrier. Others recommend reducing indoor humidity, which means less moisture in the air to freeze in the first place. This can be done with dehumidifiers or by running bathroom and kitchen vents more often. One brave soul on a spouse Facebook group suggested using a hair dryer to melt the ice and mop up the water. Just know, it’ll probably come back as long as temperatures stay brutally cold.
The bottom line is that whatever route you choose, know this: window ice is relatively normal here. Just keep an eye on it and manage it as best you can. It’s simply one more unique experience you get while living in Minot, North Dakota, something you can casually mention to friends later like it’s totally normal. Because around here… it kind of is. Welcome to the MAFB adventure.
