I grew up in Buffalo. I lived there during maybe three of the five worst blizzards Western NY has ever had. (I no longer live there, but I just dug myself out of 8-10 inches of snow a couple hours ago.) However, I never, repeat never, mock any area for shutting down due to a little snow. And you've explained why beautifully.
If you don't have the infrastructure to deal with snow, and it doesn't make economic sense to have that infrastructure, an inch of snow might as well be a foot. It's too bad that people don't always get that.
In any case, stay safe. Hopefully, it all melts for you soon.
I always just point out how unprepared Northerners are for heat waves when they get all high-and-mighty about snow. Yeah, we shut down for a little bit of snow or ice, but we survive the days of 110+ temperatures in the summer just fine.
We have similar problems (and undeserved mockery) in Seattle. I mean, yeah, the city does get a little dramatic at times, but the heart of it all is true--we're not prepared to deal with snow (and its more dangerous cousin, ice), and we live in an area with steep hills and badly placed stop lights.
The natives get upset when it snows an inch or three. Everything shuts down. Sure, it can be annoying, but it also only happens once every 5 years or so.
Before every snow I know that anyone who has ever lived somewhere other than the South will wonder, mock, and laugh at the fact that the South shuts down with just a little bit of snow.
Nah, I'm with you. Southern British Columbia - Vancouver and the Islands - is the only place in Canada that gets very little snow. I remember people closing shops and rushing home in about 3" too, much to the mockery of the rest of the country. However, they've clearly never seen disaster-in-the-making from those who don't know how to drive in snow...
Even here in Columbus, I notice a huge difference. It gets some snow, but not enough to justify the sort of response I was used to in Pittsburgh. So, even though it's flat and Pittsburgh is hilly, it's just worse driving here. People don't know what they're doing; secondary streets aren't plowed for a week or more. It will get warm enough to thaw and then refreeze. It's a mess.
This year, though, the snow has been less problematic with school closings than the wind. Not surprisingly, we weren't prepared for sustained hurricane force wind in *Ohio.* The kids were out for most of a week.
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I grew up in Buffalo. I lived there during maybe three of the five worst blizzards Western NY has ever had. (I no longer live there, but I just dug myself out of 8-10 inches of snow a couple hours ago.) However, I never, repeat never, mock any area for shutting down due to a little snow. And you've explained why beautifully.
If you don't have the infrastructure to deal with snow, and it doesn't make economic sense to have that infrastructure, an inch of snow might as well be a foot. It's too bad that people don't always get that.
In any case, stay safe. Hopefully, it all melts for you soon.
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The natives get upset when it snows an inch or three. Everything shuts down. Sure, it can be annoying, but it also only happens once every 5 years or so.
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Nah, I'm with you. Southern British Columbia - Vancouver and the Islands - is the only place in Canada that gets very little snow. I remember people closing shops and rushing home in about 3" too, much to the mockery of the rest of the country. However, they've clearly never seen disaster-in-the-making from those who don't know how to drive in snow...
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This year, though, the snow has been less problematic with school closings than the wind. Not surprisingly, we weren't prepared for sustained hurricane force wind in *Ohio.* The kids were out for most of a week.
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