First, I would like to mention a little bit about climate, especially as it affects the biological environment. North Dakota may be considered a land of extremes climatically. Its location at the geographical center of the North American continent makes North Dakota climate an outstanding example of the continental climatic type.
Humidity is relatively low, sunshine is plentiful, and air movement is nearly continuous.
These factors also greatly limit the state's faunal and floral diversity. Were the precipitation more evenly distributed, very little agriculture would be possible. Most of the summer precipitation occurs during periods of thunderstorm activity. During winter, snowfalls are usually less than 1 inch at a time and total snowfall averages less than 3 feet annually. This poses serious problems for control of soil erosion during the fall, winter, and spring.