Settlers in the Dakotas faced many challenges as they crossed the plains. There were the financial pressures as they attempted to forge a living from the prairie soils, and of course the extreme weather conditions, with a great range in both temperature and weather patterns. The state’s record high and low temps occurred in the same year, 1936. The high, 5th highest in the U.S., was an astounding 121 degrees, and the low was -60, a 181-degree difference.