Try This ‘Old Timer’ Montana Hack for Whiteout Conditions

Montana is bracing for a significant cold spell that will be arriving this weekend. Weather forecasts have indicated that much of the state will see temperatures below 0 and snow is possible, too.

With temperatures this low, it's important to have supplies on hand to stay safe and warm, especially if you will be traveling.

We asked our audience about what they recommend keeping in your car during the winter and we got some really useful recommendations:

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But there was one caller who had a recommendation that neither Chris nor I had ever heard of.

How to Drive Home Safely in White-Out Conditions

Josie called in to share multiple tips for staying safe in the winter, but one recommendation caught our attention. Josie has traveled around the state a lot for her job working in road construction. She shares a tip about driving at night in whiteout conditions.

Winter hacks. If you're in a whiteout and it's night and you can't see. Turn your dome light on. An old-timer told me that.

She admits that it doesn't make sense, but she tells the story of the night she tried it:

One night I was coming home across the Big Hole between Dillon and Badger Hill and you could not see. I turned my dome light on and it got me home.

While it's not illegal to drive with your interior lights on, if you do try this, please be safe.

She gave a few more tips that are important to remember during the winter:

• If you're in your car waiting for help and the car is turned on make sure you clear your tailpipe of snow. You could get carbon monoxide poisoning.
• If you're using cat litter make sure it's not the clumping kind. That will make conditions more slippery because it has clay in it.

Hear our call with Josie: 

Have you heard about the dome light trick for driving in white-outs? Tell us on our app and keep reading for more winter emergency travel kit ideas.