Snow!!

[Indefatigable]

We used to go to Atlanta every winter to spend Christmas & New Year's with my grandparents. I remember one year an inch of snow fell, and they closed the schools and everybody ran to the grocery stores to stock up on necessities so they didn't have to go out.

Fortunately my grandmother had a 4wd minivan full of visiting Canadians, but it's not like we needed the 4wd for an inch of snow.

[Dapper Dan]

Driving on ice down here can be much more trecherous than driving on it up North. Two reasons: As it is warmer, the ice melts on top making it very slippery. Up North it stays freezing longer so ice remains crunchy for better traction. Secondly, we generally have much more moisture in the air which comes up from the Gulf. The higher humidity also makes snow and ice very slick.

[Indefatigable]

Good point, but Canada isn't frozen solid all winter... at least in the southern bits of it, we do have a good long period where the temperature is just right to refreeze road water after cars have driven over snow and melted it. The crunchy tractiony stuff doesn't stick around for very long.

Your theory adds to mine-- not only are Southerners less familiar with driving on snow, but when they get it, they get the most treacherous combination of temperature and humidity to go with it.

[Dapper Dan]

Another factor is how municipalities, towns and cities deal with the problem of icy roads. Up North there is no choice but to invest millions of dollars in machinery to clear the roads, otherwise there would be complete immobility for very long stretches of time. Down South it's just not practical to invest in that much machinery when the amount of time we may be made immobile is usually a matter of a few days. Things are different in the higher elevations though. In the mountains of North Carolina they also have to invest in machinery as it snows and ices over much of the Winter. Last year we made a trip up during the Winter when there was a good snow. They had the roads cleared very quickly.

[anomie]

Two reasons: As it is warmer, the ice melts on top making it very slippery. Up North it stays freezing longer so ice remains crunchy for better traction. Secondly, we generally have much more moisture in the air which comes up from the Gulf. The higher humidity also makes snow and ice very slick.

And another reason: States in the North are actually prepared for snow and ice. They have the equipment to deal with and remove it, and they actually expect it to happen.

Last week Wednesday we got patches of ice in Austin, and it shut down a lot of the city (state offices and the university).

edit: Duh. I just noticed your post directly above mine, Dapper Dan. Sometimes I forget to read the whole thread before replying.