Michigan, sticks is used. At least in my family, which has a Kansas influence. “Sticks” wouldn’t even make me bat an eye. I tend to use “accumulates” or “accumulation,” but then I’m strange.
Wow, you learn something new every day. I’m a 40 year old Western Pennsylvanian (grew up in Pittsburgh) who’s never, and I mean NEVER, heard anybody use a term other than “laying” to describe snow accumulation (exception is weather people on tv who always say “accumulation”).
I can’t believe I lived this long and didn’t know that this was a regional term.
That’s funny. I am also born and raised in Phila and now live in the Phila suburbs, and “laying” is the word that I hear/use almost exclusively. In fact, reading this post is the first indication I’ve ever had that it is not universally used.
degan,
What socioeconomic strata are you from?
Zombie thread acknowledged…
‘Laying’ is the term most commonly used here in the UK (at least in my experience/locality). Same idea as laying a carpet, I guess.
zombie or no
sticks or accumulates
Weird. Grew up in Bethesda and Rockville Maryland, then Valley Forge area in PA, family in Chatanooga, don’t recall ever hearing ‘lay’. People identify my accent as Balmer Merlin too. ‘Layer’ of snow, yes. But not ‘lay’.
Noting that you posted this in Jan 2009, and the three winters Britain has experienced since then, can I ask you to be more careful in future, and not to idly comment on say, the lack of earthquakes or how few plagues seem to be happening recently. With great power comes great responsibility.
By the way, in Ireland we would say the snow is ‘lying’.
I now live in Charleston, SC. What is this thing called “snow”? 
Seriously, folks, I lived in Illinois for many years. We referred to snow sticking when it does not melt upon contact with the ground. Often, the temps may be below freezing but due to the ground still being warm, the snow will not stick. Sometimes, the temps will be above freezing, but due to the heaviness of the fall, it will stick and accumulate. Never heard of “laying,” “lying,” or other words other than “accumulating” referring to snow accumulation. Usually, the question would be, “How much is there [on the ground]?”
Here in Chattanooga, snow rarely lays or sticks. But when it does snow, I’d say it sticks when it doesn’t melt upon contact with the ground. It only lays if there’s significant accumulation. In Chattanooga, that mean more than half an inch.
Upstate New York and Central North Carolina – snow which does not immediately melt off “sticks” … accumnulate is more likely to be a TV weatherman term but isn’t out of place in conversation either.
“Lays” is what you hope will happen because she can’t go home yet because the snow is sticking. 
When the weather’s hot and sticky
Ain’t no time for dunkin’ dickie
When the frost is on the punkin
That’s the time for dickie dunkin’!
Obama hates me.
Deleted to remove political reference.
Snow sticks here in Prince Edward Island.
Never heard laying in that context. ‘Sticking’ is the term for when snow starts to cover bare ground and would not be generally used for more then that initial thin covering.
CA lowlands here, where we rarely have occasion to use ANY of these words, or any others, for snow, unless we’re planning a weekend in the Sierras. The usage barbitu8 describes is how I’ve occasionally heard it, when it happens here. It’s not necessarily accumulating (depending on whether there’s any additional snow falling), but “stick” simply means that it’s cold enough so that a small amount of snow doesn’t promptly melt. I think this kind of terminology is most commonly used in describing road conditions.