If you never lived where it snows and were moving North to where it does snow, what would you have liked to have known? What would you do to prepare?
- If you’re the owner of the home, know what bylaws there are regarding snow removal near your home. Where I live you can get a fine + snow removal costs if you aren’t reasonably prompt getting snow off the sidewalk.
- Snowy surfaces (sidewalks, driveways, roads) are often icy surfaces = slip and fall hazard. This is especially serious for older folks but it can hurt/injure at any age. This gets worse if it snows then melts then refreezes. Don’t run if you don’t have to. Sand/grit on these surfaces can help, and in my area you can get sand for free at certain town facilities.
- Frostbite on exposed skin is a genuine hazard. Look up the weather forecast when it’s cold and take time-to-frostbite warnings seriously.
Stack up on basic meds for when you catch cold. You’re likely to have it a lot, it’s kinda normal.
Also, if you’re gonna live in an area with central heating, make sure heaters in your home are fully operational and don’t need to have air removed. They should be hot all throughout their surface.
Norwegian here, and there are some common mistakes I see in people not used to the climate.
- When walking on ice, at least the very slippery kind, use short steps. It reduces the chance of slipping.
- And if you do slip and begin to fall, take it like a champ and sit down gracefully. The most comedic sights are the ones flailing to try and stay uptight.
- Buy a snow shovel.
- There are many expensive things sold as ice and snow thawers, but these are usually just variations of salt and gravel. Whatever salt you can buy in bulk at the grocery store works just fine. And any sand/gravel that you can find in the summer will do.
- When shoveling snow, clear a wider path than what you think you’ll need. A narrow strip is hard to keep clear after a while of heavy snowfall.
- If you have a car, make sure to have proper winter tires. If you do, you won’t have to bother with snow chains.
- Car batteries don’t like the cold. Make sure yours can hold charge well. Overdoing it with AmpHours is also a bonus.
- Get a scraper to remove ice from your windshield.
- Wet feet become cold feet. Stay dry. Wool socks are amazing at keeping your feet both warm and dry.
All season tires aren’t for all seasons, get real snow tires. They work better in the cold in general even if its not snowing out. 4 wheel drive doesn’t matter once you’re moving.
Aside from all the practical tips… It’s very pretty at night – snowglow. Also sledding is super fun and can be done for cheap/free.
Find an empty parking lot before it snows. Verify there are no obstacles in it or find a large area with no obstacles. Wait until it snows. Hit that bitch up and learn about how your car handles and how to recover when you fuck up.
Make sure to bring a shovel and maybe some boards or whatever others suggest in case you get yourself stuck.
My wife and I were once at a day long event a few hours north and it snowed pretty heavy. Didn’t even think about the car until we walked up to see the tires almost completely covered. It was late and the whole town pretty much shut down, so all I had to use was a window scraper.
Definitely keep a shovel in the car.
In warmer weather, mind the geese. They’re really fucking aggressive!
Regularly go through a car wash WITH UNDERCARRIAGE CLEANING or your car will be ruined by the road salt and rust.
Find a snow brush long enough to reach every part of your vehicle, buy two; keep one inside your home and one in the vehicle at all times until the weather is consistently above 50f.
You can be pulled over in places for not completely clearing snow off your vehicle; it will fly off in chunks that can smash windshields of others.
Dress warmly, but not so warm as to sweat. Sweat is moisture, moisture freezes, you’ll be colder than if you had dressed lighter. Multiple thinner layers, with a moisture wicking innermost layer to keep it off your skin.
Everywhere will absolutely blast the heater in every office and store, so if you’re going to be outside very little, probably best to leave the heavy coat in the car.
A lot of people have pretty well covered how to drive in snow and ice, but here’s a little secret they won’t tell you:
- Over the summer, the locals forgot how to drive on snow, too.
The first big snow will bring the car fairy to sprinkle wrecked cars along the side of the road. Most of these are given by people with plenty of experience driving on snow.
Stay home that first time. If you absolutely must drive, be the one going too slowly. After that, you can kind of do as the Romans do.
My first time driving in snow ever was in January. From Columbia, MD, through DC into Arlington, VA. At 5.30 AM. Big truck guys we the most guys on the snow. I drove a FWD 05 Jetta and drive painfully slowly and made it. Patience and sensibility paid off abundantly.
Depends how much it snows and how cold it gets. Much of this may sound over-cautious if your winters are mild.
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Most cities/towns have by-laws regulating property owners clear and rock-salt their walkways within a set amount of time after snow has ceased falling,
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If you use a shovel, get an ergonomic one. It is very easy to hurt your back clearing snow. No matter how long you wait, the plow always comes AFTER you’ve cleared your driveway,
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If you have kids, get into the routine of checking local news for ‘snow days’, or in other words the schools have announced they are closed due to poor road conditions,
If you drive:
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Wiper fluid needs to be swapped out for winter fluid or it may freeze in the reservoir,
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Get a windshield ice-scraper/brush,
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Your vehicle should have a good emergency kit including first aid, a candle/matches, and blanket in case you get stuck in the boonies during a winter storm,
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Expect black-ice and snow drifts while driving. Both love to cause you to lose control. Rain freezing on the trees, while absolutely gorgeous, is a sign to take the day off work to avoid driving,
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If it gets really cold and/or you’re in an area with high seasonal precipitation you’ll want to have a vehicle that is equipped with a block heater (if it is gas combustion engine ofc), and have an extra set of winter tires (sometimes a legislated requirement too) to change for the season.
- Keep an eye on your (and I guess your neighbours if you want to be helpful) house’ roof and make sure the snow doesn’t build up too much as this can cause damage/leaks/collapses if it gets too heavy
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Cotton absorbs water. If you wear cotton clothing, and it gets wet from sweat or from snow melting on you, or just water from anywhere, your cotton clothing will be cold. So dont wear jeans in the snow. Dont wear cotton socks. Cotton long underwear is fine under you pants if you’re not going to be in the snow. But silk or synthetic fibers are a must for sledding, or skiing or snowshoeing or really anything you might want to do to play or excercise in the snow.
I lived in colorado where the snow was very dry. When it snowed i would rush outside and use a hand plow to clear my walkways before anyone could step on it. Some of my neighbors would use leaf blowers. If the morning walkers crunched the snow before i could shovel it, the sidewalk would have boot shaped icebergs frozen all over it until we got enough sun to melt it off.
This would drive me nuts so i would work to get everything cleared off as soon as it stopped snowing
This.
DO NIT WALK/COMPACT YOUR REGULAR PATHS BEFORE SHOVELLING! SHOVEL THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
If you have compacted snow you will have to stab it top down with a round end steel shovel crcking apart 10cm(4") sections the whole way.
Spent the better part of last winter fixing the mistake i made in my first week of snow. (125m long path).
If you have wood oven heating then keep your wood stock close to home. My shed is 30m away and it gets real old hauling across every few days. I also use a plastic bin to carry it now. A lot easier than a wheelbarrow as you can walk right into your house and to your inside wood shelf.
Boot chains are really great, not the spikes, chains. Especially if you have a dog that gets excited and pulls.
If you have a long driveway consider a plowing service, your local farmer will probably do it cheaper(than you think) than a commercial service if you’re rural.
Stock up on food/water.
Otherwise there’s not much to it.
Freezing cold is +3C/-6C, then -18C and below. The -6C/-18C range is actually very comfortable.
Don’t dive in head first, it will break your neck.
There’s more to know if you plan to drive a car.
Four-wheel drive helps to accelerate in icy conditions, it does not help braking.
Make slow, careful changes when it’s snowy or icy. Slow down more than you normally would to take a turn. Give yourself triple the distance to slow to a stop. Don’t turn hard.
Use windshield wiper fluid appropriate for freezing temperatures.
Put any rage or impatience aside and get to where you’re going safely.
If you live in a place that clears the streets and you don’t have to go anywhere, consider staying put. Wait a couple hours until the streets are cleared.
If you’ll be driving somewhere more remote, have clothes and boots appropriate for the weather in case your car breaks down or gets stuck and you have to walk. I also keep a jug of water, flashlight, and blanket/sleeping bag in my trunk during winter for this reason.
You can’t melt through snow or ice by spinning your tires.
This is very important, I’ve seen people try this and it just makes things worse. In another comment I suggested my favourite solution to getting stuck like this; have a one-handed garden pick or similar tool in the car so you can dig the tires out of the ice.
Get a scraper/brush and keep it in your car.
Use it before you start driving. Don’t just clear a “porthole” to see out of. Clear the snow off the roof too. If you don’t it’ll fly off and hit the guy behind you or it’ll slide down over your windshield.
If you don’t have your scraper, a credit card will work in a pinch for the windshield.
Don’t pour hot water over your windshield to melt ice. At best it just doesn’t work, at worst you’ll crack the windshield
If you’re new to driving on icy/snowy roads, get a sense for how/when your car will break traction. Find an empty parking lot, accelerate a bit and then brake increasingly harder until you start to slide. This will give you a feel for the conditions under which you’ll lose traction to brake. This is also a good way to learn how to recover from a slide.
I’ve got a spray bottle filled with windshield wiper fluid I sometimes use to “pre-treat” an icy windshield before I get to scraping it, it’s often able to loosen the ice’s grip on the glass so the scraper can just lift it off. Simpler and more controllable than relying on the built-in windshield sprayers.
A one-handed garden pick is a nice tool to have handy if you find your car’s wheels stuck in some hard-packed snow or ice. Don’t spin your wheels fruitlessly, the friction is just making the ice slicker and harder. Use the garden pick to dig the wheels out instead, creating a rough surface to get some initial traction on. There are also traction plates or mats that you can stick in there to help get moving, though you need to be able to move the car far enough to get them caught under the wheels for them to work.
Make sure your car battery is in good condition. Cold weather will reduce its power output, so if your car’s going to fail to start it’ll be in the dead of winter when that happens. For peace of mind I bought one of those battery booster packs that you can use to jump-start a car with and I really like it, it’s got a built-in air pump, USB charger, and light source as well and I’ve used it for all of those things now and then. Wasn’t very expensive.
Stash a warm hat and a pair of warm mittens in the car somewhere. If you end up stranded on a roadside you won’t have known ahead of time that you were going to be stranded so you might not have brought adequate clothing with you. A flashlight, too. In northern latitudes there’s a lot of darkness during winter time.
From the top of my head:
Everyone forgets how to drive when it first snows. Try to avoid driving as much as possible during the first few days of winter.
Stick to busy roads if it recently snowed as they get plow priority, and the heavy traffic will help pack down the snow which will make it less slippery.
Fresh snow is a heck of a lot more slippery than snow that fell a few days ago.
4 wheel / all wheel drive is great, but you don’t actually need it. If your car has traction control and a good set of tires, then you’ve got everything you need to drive in the snow with confidence.
Snow tires are a worthy investment. People think that you don’t need snow tires if you have all seasons, but there’s no comparison to tires that are specifically made to be driven in the snow.
The posted speed limit is for ideal weather conditions. If there’s snow on the ground, then that’s not ideal, and you need to drive slower than the speed limit if you want to be safe and not fly off the road. One time a car passed me and about 2 miles later I saw that exact same car in the ditch. You don’t want to be that person. If you are that person, then everyone that passes you will be silently judging you while you sit there and wait hours for a tow truck because 30 other people all did the exact same thing at the exact same time.
Not really snow related, but cars with old batteries have a really hard time starting when the weather is at or below zero. If your battery is more than a few years old, it might be time to get a new one.
Bridges will freeze before anything else when the temperature gets below freezing. Just because the roads aren’t slippery doesn’t mean that any bridges you go over will be the same.
Not necessarily about fresh snow. Old snow packs down into hard, slick ice and sometimes fresh snow gives you way more traction. Depends on the temperature.
Also I moved into an area where there is less snow, but when we get it it almost always starts as rain… Then snow… Which melts on the pavement… And eventually the pavement hits zero and all that water turns to ice.
Now you have snow on ice, which is awful.
Where I grew up is exactly how you described it though. Generally fresh snow is fine if the road was previously plowed / treated with gravel or deicer / salt.
Moving to Michigan from wv has taught me one thing, people don’t really realize how slick ice and slush really is. I man the mountains even if you are going slow you’ll slide up and down the hills and turns, even small ones. Up here where it’s all flat and straight lines people go 80 through ice that they probably don’t realize they can’t stop or even really turn on effectively without huge risk. TAKE IT SLOW always be sure of road conditions and you ability before going out
I’ve heard that people use snow tires. How does that work? Does everyone have 2 sets of wheels at home that they switch with the seasons?
Some dealers or tire shops have a service to store/swap them if space is limited. You can ask around. There are really two ways to do it. A higher upfront cost of an entire set of wheels/tires. They just need to be put on. Other option is to have snow tires remounted on the same rims. This option costs more per change(mount/balance) but cheaper up front (no rims to buy).
I have an entire set and just use cheap rims. That way if you do slide into something and mess them up it’s not a huge deal. My stock rims are like $800 each…other rims are like $100.
I also downsized my tires to a smaller factory size. Usually cheaper tires on 17” rims vs 18 or 20”. If you keep the outer diameter the same you’ll get more sidewall height. That paired with the softer nature of snow tires will change the driving characteristics of your vehicle a bit.
My insurance agent of all people when I was a teenager said to find an empty parking lot full of snow and slide your car around. The first time you slip out shouldn’t be on a public roadway if you can help it. Stops you from freaking out and making it worse. Learn how to correct slides and such so when you need it then you have some idea of what you’re doing. Pay attention to light poles, curbs and more importantly…parking stones(the slabs of concrete at the front of some parking spaces that might be hidden under snow). So make sure you’re familiar with the lot. Back parts of mall parking lots are a pretty decent choice.
Edit: tiny typos throughout
More stuff… While snow tires can help tremendously they don’t make it even remotely close to driving on dry pavement or even wet pavement from rain. You need to do just about everything slower and brake earlier.
Most snow tires have two sets of tread wear bars. The normal set found on most tires and a second much taller set that marks their reduction of ability when used in deep snow. You need more tread to disperse the thicker snow/slush. Biggest difference is the rubber followed by the tread patterns/siping. They stay softer in way colder temps than even all-season tires. The further below freezing you go the more noticeable this becomes. Conversely they don’t handle heat well and will degrade insanely quickly. The handling sucks too cause they feel kinda greasy because they’re just too soft at higher temps. They’re made for cold.
Yes
Well, also no. I mean, I do, and so do many of my friends. But many people rely on all seasons. It’s… Not the best plan. But a lot of people do it.
