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?
Ask a local to show you some of their winter clothes or to take you winter clothes shopping. Your warmest clothes right now are not warm enough. Capacitive touch gloves will let you use your phone.
If you have a car, get a snow brush and ice scraper (for windshield and windows). There is winter windshield fluid, get and use it when it’s snowing. Get winter tires, it makes a difference. Insurance companies give a discount for having them. If there’s snow on the road, go slower than you think you should, and start braking at least twice as early as when it’s dry. Accelerate and brake slowly. If your car is sliding on ice, resist the temptation to keep pressing your brakes, try your best to steer the slide instead.
If your car gets stuck in snow and you need to run it to keep it warm, make sure the tail pipe is well clear of snow (carbon monoxide). Keep an emergency blanket, hat, gloves in the car in case of breakdown. If the wheels are stuck in a snowbank (just spinning in place), some sand or non-clumping cat litter can give you traction. You can sacrifice your floor mats for this, too.
If you walk instead of drive, consider crampons for your boots for if it gets icy out.
There’s different textures and density to snow. Wet snow is dense and heavy, dry snow is light and fluffy. Shoveling can be very different depending on the snow. Lift/push with your legs, now with your arms or back. Take breaks if needed.
If you wear glasses, they will fog up when you go from outside to inside. Sorry. You could get anti-fog stuff used for snow and ski goggles, but most normal people just wait for them to warm up.
A scarf makes a big difference.
Wool can keep you warm even when wet.
Be prepared for power outages especially if the area does not bury power lines. Heavy snow, or worse, ice, can make tree branches heavy and fall and snap power lines. If this happens, be mindful of carbon monoxide. People, families have died trying to keep warm by running generators, stoves, etc indoors without proper ventilation.
Snow reflects sunlight; wear sunglasses if the sun is out and there’s snow on the ground.
Go outside and listen when the snow is falling. It makes everything quieter and it’s really ice to hear.
Snow that’s warmed slightly then frozen again is crunchy and fun to walk on.
If you’re north enough, the sunlight will not be sufficient for creating vitamin D. (Plus you’ll probably be indoors more, less daylight in general.) Consider a supplement.
Consider a SAD light if lack of daylight affects your moods.
Go outside and listen when the snow is falling. It makes everything quieter and it’s really ice to hear.
Somehow that typo works in this context. Ice.
Snow that’s warmed slightly then frozen again is crunchy and fun to walk on.
It’s “ice” to walk on.
Jokes aside, thank you so much for the information. I don’t live where it snows but I learned a lit about how to survive if I ever need to. Thanks again.
Keep one of those brush/scraper things in your car.
Clean the snow off your car before driving.
CLEAN THE SNOW OFF YOUR CAR BEFORE DRIVING
All of it
If it is going to be a lot of snow, don’t wait until it is over before you start digging out.
Salt/pet friendly ice melt for your walkways
Have a snow blower? Don’t wait until the day before to see if it still runs. Make sure you have gas for it
Slow drip on a faucet to prevent pipes from bursting
I’d add that, while not strictly required, one of those total car snow covers really does come in handy: https://www.amazon.ca/kayme-Waterproof-Protection-Automobiles-Universal/dp/B09FLKGLCW
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.
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.
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.
