# How much do Canadians, Midwesterners, Alaskans laugh at East Coasters during a "blizzard" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 14, 2017, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142 "2017-03-14T07:10:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/61 "2017-03-15T21:15:45Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I’d rather deal with Palmetto bugs than have to deal with below freezing temps more than a handful a times a year ;). There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inadequate clothing. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/62 "2017-03-15T21:36:08Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inadequate clothing. QFT. Where I live the weather is far more calm than most of the country, and yet people still find a reason to complain about it. I find people who complain the most about the weather spend little time outside. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/63 "2017-03-16T00:16:53Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Today in central CA it is in the mid-to upper 70s. Blue sky, barely a puff of wind. Trees in bloom, poppies beside the road, the hills and valleys are lush and green - the scent of sweet spring flowers in the air. I would like to find a place on earth where it is like this all the time! Yeah, but when it gets below 55°F, you guys all bundle up! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/64 "2017-03-16T00:21:14Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > It’s a risky thing that even well-prepared and experienced people have accidents in. I’m relatively isolated and I still heard about an accident involving emergency medical services, and three collisions with plows. Visibility was bad but luckily people weren’t acting stupid. Yes, we’ll weather it but it’s still stressful. I respect that you felt stressed. I’m sorry that you felt that way & I’m glad nothing happened to you. You can be the most calm and careful driver in the world who respects the weather an prepares for it, but stupid people can still hit you. A day later by me, a lot of roads still have packed ice on them and I still left multiple car lengths for safety in front of me (because the roads still are still icy). And yet… there’s always some asshat in a subcompact with bald tires 3 inches off of my bumper and trying to jog his car left and right like he wants to pass me on a double yellow line with cars in front of me and heavy oncoming traffic. Some part of him must think he’s driving in Paris in June. No, I’m not going to brake check; I’m going to pay attention to whats in front of me and let nature handle whats behind me. Its all I can do because I can’t make him less stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/65 "2017-03-16T00:43:08Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > We typically feel sorry as hell for the people in the London area, though, as they’re in the perfect location to suffer severe lake effect snow from any of three surrounding Great Lakes. But despite this, it had very little snow the three years I lived there. Wherever I live, it does not snow as much as it did prior my moving there. For lake effect snow, check out the tip of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula that juts out into the middle of Lake Superior: typically 23 feet of snowfall. And tree skiing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/66 "2017-03-16T00:50:13Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Well the reaction in the Northeast is in part due to the long memories of the blizzard of 1978 that shut down the entire northeast from Boston to Philly, or lower, for a week or more to dig out. Darned tootin’ !! I was in the 11th grade when that blizzard hit Philly. Made a heap of money shoveling people out for the first few days after that hit. And that storm didn’t make the [Top Ten Blizzards in the Philly area](http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillylists/10-Highest-Snowfalls-in-Philadelphia-History.html) list !!! ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/67 "2017-03-16T00:51:46Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > … > We did a change in duty station from Virginia Beach to Groton CT back in December 1990. A few months later, in Feb they announced a blizzard was going to happen, so we did the fair thing as we were taught by our moms and shopped - **toilet paper, canned and dry goods for cooking [vegan minestrone is a favorite] and some beef chuck for chili or stew … batteries, candles, a new lighter and wood for the wood stove.** We were all set, and waiting for the huge storm that was going to hit. When we got all of an inch of snow over a day we were still wondering where the freaking blizzard was and figured it passed under us over the sound or over us up in Mass … til they told us it was the worst storm in our area in like 5 years … _sigh_ Bolding mine Why do people do that? The roads are typically clear relatively soon. Don’t you have food in the kitchen to last a few days already? Don’t you have enough TP to last the week in the house? I could see doing your weekly shopping a day or two early but to stock up on stuff you’ve got? Batteries and candles for power outage I understand. Maybe a few new “toys” to try with your SO since you’ve time but beyond that it amazes me when the news shows people stocking up before a known repetitive event. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/68 "2017-03-16T01:35:30Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I’d rather deal with Palmetto bugs than have to deal with below freezing temps more than a handful a times a year ;). That’s a really, really tough call. Where is the perfect place that avoids Palmetto bugs but doesn’t have to deal with the cold? Population density compounds the snow problem. Unlike most (all?) midwestern cities, many of our streets are narrow and street parking is the norm. You can’t order the cars off the street for cleaning because there would literally be no place for them. As another poster noted, we also rely heavily on foot traffic for everything. Our sidewalks get full when they are empty. Take away 1/2 to 2/3rds and it’s a nightmare, and that is what happens because there is no place to put the snow, especially where the population is densest. Same goes for streets - nowhere to put/move the snow and even narrower passage. For reasons that even some of us lifelong NYers don’t understand, we have two-way streets with street parking on both sides that cannot fit 4 cars across. Hydrants usually allow us to pass, but when the plows pile up the snow, these 2 way streets are a recipe for even greater gridlock. So yes, some may laugh, but only because they are clueless to the logistical nightmares that happen when we get more than ~6" at a time. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/69 "2017-03-16T01:56:53Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > That’s a really, really tough call. Where is the perfect place that avoids Palmetto bugs but doesn’t have to deal with the cold? California might have cockroaches, but I don’t recall ever seeing one. Maybe the scorpions get them. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/70 "2017-03-16T02:01:25Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Are you under the impression that there are people in American who look at New England winters as something other than harsh? According to [this map](http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=6910), snowfall in New England and the Great Lake states is comparable to anywhere in the Midwest. > Certainly Alaska and Northern Canada an parts of the Midwest have generally harsher and colder winters. But I think at that point, the needle moves in the other direction towards “why the fuck do you live on ice planet Hoth?” > > Interestingly, when I was a child in Erie, PA, we used to actually trudge a mile to school through feet of snow. When we moved to Connecticut in elementary school, my mom got frantic calls from our neighbors after the first dusting of snow asking why her children were standing outside waiting for the schoolbus I knew a woman that lived in Alaska and she came to New England in the winter and she told me that our winters was colder and wetter than Alaska and she couldn’t wait to get back home to Alaska . ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/71 "2017-03-16T02:03:48Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > California might have cockroaches, but I don’t recall ever seeing one. Maybe the scorpions get them. That certainly makes me feel better. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/72 "2017-03-16T02:06:23Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Our sidewalks get full when they are empty. Could I have worded that any worse? How about “our sidewalks get full of pedestrians when there aren’t any extra obstructions” - that accounts for the normal items on a city sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/73 "2017-03-16T14:25:09Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > So are they now the “clowns”? Yanno, I used to bust my sister’s chops because I was frequently colder than she was. Me? Northern Delaware. Her? Wasilla, Alaska. You might wish to reconsider your assumptions. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/74 "2017-03-16T19:54:05Z")
Well power back up after 2-3/4 days of being down. All the Canadians, Midwesterners, Alaskans on board here can call me a wuss if they want, but was damn glad for that. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/75 "2017-03-16T21:19:00Z")
50 hours for me. -10c in the house, becore teh heat came back. Yes, I stayed in that cold - though I did send my wife and kids to my mother’s - She had heat at least. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/76 "2017-03-16T22:58:50Z")
22 inches total here, with no power loss (we’ve got a stand-by generator just in case). My car got a shimmy but I hope it will resolve itself soon, or maybe once it warms up. I can’t say the same for the “shimmy shimmy cocoa pop” earworm. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/77 "2017-03-17T14:36:32Z")
The shimmy is just snow in the rim causing an unbalance. It happens all the time. We got ONLY 25 cm in Ottawa. We fared much better than Montreal, who we’re normally on par with. I’m hoping that’s the last major dump of the year. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/78 "2017-03-17T15:47:43Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Bolding mine > Why do people do that? The roads are typically clear relatively soon. Don’t you have food in the kitchen to last a few days already? Don’t you have enough TP to last the week in the house? I could see doing your weekly shopping a day or two early but to stock up on stuff you’ve got? Batteries and candles for power outage I understand. Maybe a few new “toys” to try with your SO since you’ve time but beyond that it amazes me when the news shows people stocking up before a known repetitive event. Where the farm in CT is is a tiny town of some 2500 people [and more sheep and cows than people] and is more or less the last community cleared out, and our very rural little street is generally one of the last streets plowed [for an example, when the winds took down so many trees 3 years ago in CT, we _were_ the last community to get power restored, we were unelectrified for just over 2 weeks.] When we have a blizzard, we can get snowed in for up to a week [and have been …on more than one occasion] And besides, what is the problem with keeping a stocked pantry if you have the space? Since I was not just heating with the woodstove but doing a fair amount of cooking on it, we would go through the dry and canned goods in a reasonable amount of time anyway. [and I can see the ‘french toast makings’ being OK in the winter, we would set stuff out in the barn to keep it cold but in the summer with no fridge? Oy!] ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142/79 "2017-03-17T17:19:43Z")
I started with my current employer in a suburb that borders Chicago in 2000. During this time, we’ve only had one weather closure after a 22 inch snow dump a few years ago. Meanwhile, some of our Northern East coast vendors average a couple weather related closures every year. We do roll our eyes and mutter ‘Oh, for crying out loud…’ and, yeah, there’s some jealous sighs thrown in. I don’t recall any closures during my 5 winters in Milwaukee for school, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-canadians-midwesterners-alaskans-laugh-at-east-coasters-during-a-blizzard/782142.md?page=3)