4 ms·

Same here. I live in North East Scotland, but have spent a lot of time in Norway with work over the past 20 years (I'm actually closer to Norway than to London!

Same here. I live in North East Scotland, but have spent a lot of time in Norway with work over the past 20 years (I'm actually closer to Norway than to London!). If there's so much as a sprinkling of snow over here, airports shut down and there are car crashes everywhere - meanwhile in Norway, it's business as usual. Also in Norway, if you have a car you must by law fit winter tyres during snow season.

alistairSH 6y ago
It sounds crazy that relatively affluent nations/cities can't handle snow, but at least here in the DC area in the US, there are a few good reasons... 1. While we do get snow every winter, it tends to be mixed with icy rain, not the powdery stuff you get in more northern climates. What tends to happen is a bit of snow will fall overnight, then go into a melt/flash-freeze cycle as the temperature hovers around freezing. 2. Because it only snow (with any major accumulation) once or twice a season, there isn't a huge incentive to invest in more snow removal equipment. The state DOT handles major roads, but neighborhoods are largely left to clear their own snow. My last neighborhood had a contract with a construction company from out of the region for major snow - they'd drive up their trucks (with plows attached) and set up camp at the edge of the area for a few days, then go home. 3. DC is highly transient. Lots of drivers who simply don't have much experience driving in snow. 4. Public transit is terrible. So, everybody tries to go to work, and if their only car is a Corvette, so be it. And of course, they spin it into a ditch as soon as they try to get on the highway.
- nitrogen 6y ago
  Even a rear wheel drive sports car can do well in the snow if it has stability control and you put good snow tires on it (and take things gradually).
  - alistairSH 6y ago
    Sporty cars in the US are often sold with summer tires. I'm quite sure many consumers don't realize how much difference a good all-season or winter tire makes in snow.
- GordonS 6y ago
  > While we do get snow every winter, it tends to be mixed with icy rain, not the powdery stuff you get in more northern climates A good point, I've noticed that too - despite how close we are, the snow in Norway always seems different, more powdery and less slushy.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
That's because the weather in Norway is predictable. It doesn't snow heavily once every few years, it snows heavily most years. So there are systems and equipment in place to deal with it. And drivers have experience of difficult conditions. The UK is mostly temperate, but occasionally it isn't. Buying snowploughs and using them once every five years is a difficult ask for constrained council budgets, and drivers might get a couple of weeks of heavy snow every few years in which to practice their not-sliding-into-other-cars skills.
- GordonS 6y ago
  Right, if considering south of the border, but here in NE Scotland, at least a little snow from Jan-Mar is pretty common. So we're used to it, have snowploughs, gritters and plane de-icers, but somehow drivers still drive like idiots, and airports etc still can't cope ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  - baq 6y ago
    scottish snow plows have absolutely hilarious names. they've recently gone somewhat viral on twitter. https://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2de764a9303848ffb9a4cac0bd0b1aab https://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html...
  - pintxo 6y ago
    At least in Germany it's quite normal that people totally loose all their driving skills on the first day of snow in the winter. Somehow they get them back quickly within days. Or those with difficulties driving in the snow stay at home, not sure what it is. Years ago my average commute in the evening was 25min or so, with the first snow of the season, this was upped to 3.5h.

alistairSH 6y ago

It sounds crazy that relatively affluent nations/cities can't handle snow, but at least here in the DC area in the US, there are a few good reasons... 1. While we do get snow every winter, it tends to be mixed with icy rain, not the powdery stuff you get in more northern climates. What tends to happen is a bit of snow will fall overnight, then go into a melt/flash-freeze cycle as the temperature hovers around freezing. 2. Because it only snow (with any major accumulation) once or twice a season, there isn't a huge incentive to invest in more snow removal equipment. The state DOT handles major roads, but neighborhoods are largely left to clear their own snow. My last neighborhood had a contract with a construction company from out of the region for major snow - they'd drive up their trucks (with plows attached) and set up camp at the edge of the area for a few days, then go home. 3. DC is highly transient. Lots of drivers who simply don't have much experience driving in snow. 4. Public transit is terrible. So, everybody tries to go to work, and if their only car is a Corvette, so be it. And of course, they spin it into a ditch as soon as they try to get on the highway.

nitrogen 6y ago
Even a rear wheel drive sports car can do well in the snow if it has stability control and you put good snow tires on it (and take things gradually).
- alistairSH 6y ago
  Sporty cars in the US are often sold with summer tires. I'm quite sure many consumers don't realize how much difference a good all-season or winter tire makes in snow.
GordonS 6y ago
> While we do get snow every winter, it tends to be mixed with icy rain, not the powdery stuff you get in more northern climates A good point, I've noticed that too - despite how close we are, the snow in Norway always seems different, more powdery and less slushy.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

TheOtherHobbes 6y ago

That's because the weather in Norway is predictable. It doesn't snow heavily once every few years, it snows heavily most years. So there are systems and equipment in place to deal with it. And drivers have experience of difficult conditions. The UK is mostly temperate, but occasionally it isn't. Buying snowploughs and using them once every five years is a difficult ask for constrained council budgets, and drivers might get a couple of weeks of heavy snow every few years in which to practice their not-sliding-into-other-cars skills.

GordonS 6y ago
Right, if considering south of the border, but here in NE Scotland, at least a little snow from Jan-Mar is pretty common. So we're used to it, have snowploughs, gritters and plane de-icers, but somehow drivers still drive like idiots, and airports etc still can't cope ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- baq 6y ago
  scottish snow plows have absolutely hilarious names. they've recently gone somewhat viral on twitter. https://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2de764a9303848ffb9a4cac0bd0b1aab https://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html...
- pintxo 6y ago
  At least in Germany it's quite normal that people totally loose all their driving skills on the first day of snow in the winter. Somehow they get them back quickly within days. Or those with difficulties driving in the snow stay at home, not sure what it is. Years ago my average commute in the evening was 25min or so, with the first snow of the season, this was upped to 3.5h.