41 Maps That Portray The Lesser Known Facts About America

Understand that we (Louisiana) have no way to handle even the smallest amount of snow and ice. Our roads are already c**p, and we have no way to clear them other than wait for the sun to do it.

We do not invest in snow plows, as they would only be used maybe 10 of days of each year, if that. So the snow packs and turns to slick ice, which is very dangerous. We always "get a kick" out of Northerners practically melting and acting like they are dying when the temp gets higher than 80 degrees....LOL.

We close for any snow because of the ice. People down here don't know how to drive on ice.

As others have explained to you, it's infrastructure. When you never get snow or freezing temperatures, then you don't put the same amount of money into being ready for it. Snow plows, roads, etc, and then even down to the individual level - are you going to open your school if it's cold enough to require a coat that you know almost none of the children own?

It's not just the infrastructure. People in warm climates don't invest in equipment to handle snow - snow tires, road salt, AWD vehicles, etc. So the same amount of snow represents a much greater danger in places where it's uncommon.

I always get a kick out of people who look down on others from their cold climate pedestal.

They usually are closer to the equator so it becomes an ice issue without snow plows, which is not part of their infrastructure. No one can drive on ice.

GirlFriday... The human body acclimates itself to the environment where it is most often found. So, while in Hawaii, where any snow closes a school, the weather is most often tropical and gets very VERY warm, people accustomed to cooler weather would have a difficult time with the elevated temps. By the same token, if you are from a place where the weather is often much colder, the milder climate where any fallen snow is gone by the next day, it is, obviously warm enough to not need clothes for sub-zero temps, but someone from a tropical place would have a difficult time. Additionally, if you are from a place where snow falls infrequently, you will not be familiar with the skillset needed to DRIVE in said snow. It's not just about temperatures, it's also about vehicle and human safety. To suggest that people are somehow "less than" because they have opted for the "better safe than sorry" choice is uninformed and unfeeling.

Southern snow is very different from northern snow. I've lived in Minnesota and in Virginia. You can drive on the snow in Minnesota, but the same amount of snow in Virginia is much slicker... not to mention the roads are curvier and steeper.

In Houston we have no means for dealing with any level of ice or snow. All of our highways are elevated because the land is only 10 feet above sea level so roads ice over easily. We only get snow about once or twice a decade but we ussually have at least one ice day a year.

Eugene/Springfield, OR shuts down for anything more than 1/2" - because they can't treat the road surfaces with salt because most (if not all) of the the storm drains lead directly into the Willamette River. That being said, snow (that sticks) is pretty unusual in OR *west of the Cascades*. Basically, everything East of Bend is mostly high altitude desert (and gets lots of snow) while everything West in the Willamette Valley is a temperate rainforest (seasons are Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Wet).

Who the hell goes around without a coat on in 30-40 F weather?

S**t, here in Virginia, they just have to PREDICT snow and schools close.

I think where I live they would cancel school for any snow just because everyone would be so excited there was snow haha

Can you imagine what an inch of snow would do to somewhere with no cold weather preparations in place because snow doesn’t ever happen? It would be a disaster for school buses that are used to heat instead of icy roads.

I went to school in Washington where 1in shut it down, but having that many hills combined with slick snow and ice it made sense for safety issues. On the flip side I also attended school in northern Minnesota and got 1 snow day because we got over 1 foot in an hour and it wasn't stopping so again for safety reasons we went home. It's just a matter of perspective for where you live.

i lve in florida

How about a snow flake or a rumor of snow, that’s what they do in Portland Oregon, close the schools. One time recently snow was threatened, they closed the schools. Guess what, it didn’t snow at all.

I've lived in both areas. The ones that cancel school for small amounts of snow are usually places that don't normally get snow and have no infrastructure to handle it. I now live in a snowy area and it's a world of difference. It always irritates me when someone who has not experienced the flip side gets smug about it.

Yes but 1" can make for hazardous driving conditions where you are dealing with hills and zero snow removal ability. Also bear in mind that may of the places where it's "any snow" never see snow....

Southern places don't mandate snow tires or have the infrastructure to salt the roads. Might want to cancel school in those cases.

Seattle WA gets very little snow but with the little it does get, there is also a lot of ice. AND since there is very little snow in any given year, they simply do not have the road equipment to handle what they do get.

But with infrequent occurrences of snow, we also don’t have the equipment to make the roads safe!!

and we in CA always get a kick out of people who lose their minds over a tiny earthquake. We adapt to our environment

I think for us it's cause if we would ever get snow, everybody would stop what they're doing and stare at it in wonder haha

It's about the school buses being driven in snow. In the north, they are much more capable of it. They have to be because otherwise there would be snow days throughout the year in at least two states...

Here in the south, I think the schools close so the kids can enjoy the snow.......they don't see it very often!

It takes only the threat of snow in Maryland (especially Baltimore) to close schools. It's ridiculous.

While I laugh at the idea of closing schools for only an inch of snow (we're in agreement there) If it's cold enough for snow, I'm wearing a coat!!!

If you are in the desert most people have no idea how to drive in the snow and it becomes dangerous for the buses coming down the mountain because people are idiots and most don’t have the proper equipment on their vehicles to drive on iced roads.

I always get a kick out of the places that have a “heat advisory” notice for 90+ degrees. 🤣🤣🤣 We’re playing baseball in long sleeve, full polyester uniforms in 100+ weather... It doesn’t get below 90 until about 11pm.

If people round here see some snowflakes falling, E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.G shuts down.

I live in a if it snows it’s canceled state. School anyway. It has to be a blizzard to cancel work.

Apparently, for where I live, it's three inches. Uhh...no. Anytime it snows, the school district flips out and school is canceled.

Good point. 24" of snow over a few days is VASTLY different over night

Yeah, where I lived in CT, it wasn't the amount of snow that mattered so much as how hard it was coming down when school was supposed to start. We never got school cancelled unless it was still snowing hard in the morning. Otherwise the plows would have cleared the roads already