For Northern States or Countries.

I live in california and it snows about once a year here… last december we got about 21 inches and the schools were closed, stores were closed and roads were blocked off. My road was blocked so I couldn’t go to work. We didn’t have any problems with the pipes or electricity though..

yes , here in the north, the question isn’t “if its going to get cold this year”- it is “when”

it happens every year, we know it is going to snow (well most years anyway), and we know it is going to get cold- so pretty much everything here is weather proof.

we do have people however that have their heat fail, and their pipes do freeze- just comes with the territory. and on occasion if an ice storm does hit- we do lose power sometimes- but it doesn’t happen all that often. I would say we have more power outtages from thunderstorms than we do from winter conditions.

like the HEAT down there- we kind have gotten used to the COLD up here, and have learned to live with it.

When I lived in Portland, they were much the same way, mandy. Growing up in PA, we were used to the fact that every couple of weeks, we would get a few inches of snow that would make the roads impassible, but the county was very well prepared with salt, plows, cinder, and the like. We were almost guaranteed to lose power and heat at least a few times during the winter, so we had plenty of kerosene on hand. Power was never out very long and the roads were almost always cleared a few hours into the day.

Portland, however, got so little snow that even two inches of snow would paralyze the city for days. They had two snowplows to cover the city and no salt, so you basically just had to wait for the stuff to melt.

It’s snowing right now in New York, but no one slows down for anything so piddly as snow around here.

It’s not a stupid question, I live in England and have never been up north, no where near. I’m younger, but England’s smaller and it’s easier to get up north.

Same here in Montana, as in Michigan…we’re prepared for winter snow. Also, in the south, it is “warm snow”…compared to the snow up here…warm snow is very heavy and it puts too much weight on the lines…here the snow is very light and fluffy, even when there’s 3 feet of it…That’s not to say, when the weather warms, that fluffy stuff starts pulling down trees and power lines…and then there are outages…

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I live in New Hampshire (Hickshire) and we probably do have stronger powerlines. 2WD is almost UNHEARD of up here, as we have 3 seasons: Mud Season, Tourist Season, and Hunting Season. Pipes don’t freeze if you prepare them right, and we do lose power for at least once a day. You say you’ve never left the south? I’ve only been as far down as Connecticut (once) and I’ve NEVER in my whole life been to Vermont or even left New England!

Of course that’s not a stupid question! Because yes, life is very different when you live in an area that gets lots of snow and cold. Norway, for instance. Or the Himalayas in Nepal. I’ve frozen in both places.

Seriously, though, the main point is that people are used to the cold, harsh weather, and everything is geared to meet it. Homes are well-insulated (Norway has very strict building codes, in the Himalayas, it’s a question of living inside several surrounding walls of thck stone, with an outer courtyard as well). Pipes likewise. And people too - you get used to dressing for the cold - the ‘layered look’ is never out of fashion. (As I write this,up in the mountains of Cyprus, I’m seated at the laptop with a sleeping bag up to my waist - toasty warm!)

Yes, the electricity sometimes goes (well, in most places where I lived in the Himalayas there never was any to begin with) and so you get used to that too - I always know exactly where the candles and matches are. A lot of homes in Norway have fireplaces as well. Cabins in the mountains are very popular, and there you heat with wood (woodstoves and fireplaces)… and light with candles and oil lamps.

But basically, society is prepared. Cars all have winter tires, buses and trucks have chains. Snowplows are called out right away, and work all night if necessary. I can’t ever, ever recall that school was called out because of snowfall in Norway.

I live in Canada. This year has been the worst that I can remember for snowfall. And it has been extra cold. We have not lost electricity once, and the pipes are ok, but not running all night. Poeple here still can’t seem to remember how to drive after the first big storm of the year. School is cancelled maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks because it is not safe for the busses to drive. But for the most part, we are just used to it, so the infrastructure is prepared to handle it. I know the power lines are reinforced. I don’t know about the pipes.