You are fortunate to have avoided the hefty fine for driving on a closed highway. I live in Laramie and I can tell you that stretch of highway is murderous in Winter. It includes the highest point on I80 at 8,260 feet above sea level. The wind is often the worst part of it.
I live in an area that gets a LOT of snow. The county I work for has 4 ski resorts. Since our business is snow, we are well prepared for it. Not making it to work because of snow is not unheard of, but it is very rare.
In 18 years my office has shut down once. I come in early so I was already there. We got paid for that. If you call in for a snow day, you would need to take vacation time.
4x4 and dedicated snow tires are a must for my Wife and I. The more ground clearance the better. Also, I have my own snow plow. Getting to work in the morning is not too bad, my driveway goes downhill to the road. I can handle about 2 feet of snow. What I have to do is plow when I return from work.
We live about a mile from the main road. A two lane state highway. Our road is the last to get plowed, so it can be tricky. But as long as I can get to the highway, I’m in good shape.
I have been stuck a few times in my driveway. But I can use my truck to pull myself out. I’ve also stuck my truck a few times. It has chains on all four wheels. When that gets stuck, you got problems.
In fact, I had a plumber to my house yesterday. He got stuck but I was able to pull him out with my SUV. SOP around here.
And like Athena said. You have to have a place to put the stuff. Snow storage.
Our dogs do OK. We take them snow shoeing behind the house. If it’s colder than 10 F we won’t go.
I’ll answer the ones I have direct experience with:
It is completely up to the individual employer. Around here, it varies by employee, too. I wouldn’t expect an employee who lives out in the country to be able to get in to work after a 2-foot overnight snow dump, but someone living in town should show up. School snow days have make-up days, but they’re pretty rare out here.
Anyone who lives in a place where it would take “hours” to shovel the driveway probably has a snowblower, tractor, or plow, or a contract with someone else who does.
Depends on the snow itself and the outside temperature. If we get light, fluffy snow and it’s ten below zero, you’ll have a devil of a time compacting that stuff. If it’s “snowman weather,” it works just like in the movies: just roll the ball around and it gets bigger and bigger (and heavier and heavier).
Again, depends on the snow. I’ve been hit with some snowballs that felt like baseballs.
It’s not the snow itself that’s the issue. My dog loves the snow! We let her outside when there’s a fresh couple of feet and she’ll run and leap and roll and eat the snow and play, often for over an hour at a time. That’s assuming it’s 20 degrees above zero (Fahrenheit). If it’s 20 below, she runs out, pees somewhere close, and runs back in.
Cold is a matter of what you’re used to. It’s 29 degrees F outside, and I just went out and fed the horses wearing slippers, pajama pants, and a sweatshirt.
With regards to driving and blizzards, I can’t speak for all Canadians, of course, but I think for most of us that have lived here all our lives, we make accommodations automatically without really thinking about it. For example, driving in iffy conditions, we’ll take the commonly-used roads with traffic, not a back road where it might be hours between cars. My husband and I both have survival gear in our cars (blanket, snow shovel, candle, matches, granola bars, that kind of thing). If we’re going out all dressed up, I’ll still put my snow boots in the car (and my cellphone in my purse). We tell someone when we’re heading out on the highway, and when we expect to get there. Canadians highway drive A LOT, but I think we drive a lot less in winter for just these reasons.
Living in a city we’re less careful these ways since we know we’re always minutes away from someone’s house, but if we lived in the country, we’d pay a lot more attention to snow survival techniques.
Regarding snowballs - chinook snow makes the BEST snowballs! Snow is not like they show in the movies and on tv - it rarely sticks together into snowballs unless it’s wet snow. I threw a whole bunch of snowballs at Jim last night - I missed with every one. He’s lucky my aim sucks. 
Good point. It’s not uncommon for people to talk about “dressing for the ditch,” which means just what it says. If you end up sliding off the road and going into the ditch, or having some other accident or problem requiring you to get out of the car, you don’t want to be dealing with it in a suit and tie and dress shoes (or, for ladies, a nice suit or dress and shoes, etc.). You want warm clothing that you don’t worry too much about if you end up needing to push the car out of a snowbank, or to walk through slush, or to wade through snowdrifts.
On the occasions when I have needed a suit and tie and shoes for work (like when I meet clients, for example), but the weather conditions indicate that I should dress for the ditch, I’ve packed what I need in a bag and worn good, warm, work clothes and boots. I change in the washroom when I get to work.
I forgot to mention that we do have to get up a bit earlier under certain conditions to clear off the car itself. It’s worst when there’s a warm (above freezing) night that moves into snow and sub-freezing weather. The snow that hits the warm windshield thaws, getting it wet, and then the weather goes below freezing and the water freezes. You think there’s just a bit of snow on the windshield, but there’s an underpinning of ice that you have to scrape off.
Dressing for the ditch. heh… Thats pretty much all the time where I live. ‘Fancy’ clothes just don’t make it. It’s jeans and heavy shirts all year round.
‘Dress’ clothes are pointless. I work a desk job, but will often ware my snowshoe boots into work. A long sleeve t-shirt and fleece with a down vest is my choice during the day in this modern office. That’s what you do in cold weather. I keep a lamp close to keep my hands warm while working. It used to be 55 degrees in the office when I got there. It’s now about 65. Reasonable.
I can answer one of your questions about staying warm inside the car when it breaks down in a snow blizzard or when it’s cold outside. I remember one of the tips about a snow storm and being stuck in your car they always recommend you have a small candle in your safety box in the trunk. You light it in the car with the window open a bit and it keeps you safe and warm in the car.
Getting up early to shovel your driveway and sidewalks is optional, too - you can often shovel them off before bed (as long as the snow has stopped). Sweeping and scraping your car is less optional without a garage, though.
I was a teacher and we had to make up all of the days that we missed because of snow. We were paid for the snow days and they were worked off at the end of the year. Once I was in the hospital when the school had a snow day and the school secretary saw to it that I didn’t get paid for that day. It counted against my sick leave. She refused to change it. So I just said, “Oh, great! Then I don’t have to be here the last day of school when all of the records are due.” She changed her mind.
You do realize that your arrogance could have not only put your lives in danger but the lives of the emergency responders that have to save your sorry butt when something goes wrong? What could have been so important for you to defy the DOT personnel? Yes, you made it…this time. And because of stories like yours, many others who aren’t so lucky will also make a bad decision. Do yourself and the rest of us motorists a favor and quit telling this kind of anecdote. <deep breath, Ruby. OK, I’m stepping stepping off of the soap box now>
How do you do that!?!
With snow and ice, I can bust my arse on flat pavement. Can’t imagine removing snow from a 2nd story roof that is at a 45 degree (more or less) angle.
If it’s at a 45 degree angle, it likely wouldn’t have much snow on it. However, most modern bungalows have a roof with much less angle - more like 10 degrees. Snow accumulates on roofs like that.
I once went out on our porch roof to shovel the snow off - it was about three feet deep and I was worried it might cause something to go “pop”. Then, once it was on the ground in front of the house, I got to shovel it a second time - away from the foundations, because I didn’t want a flooded basement in the spring when it melted. By the time I’d done shovelling, I had a berm of snow about 5 feet tall in front of my house, about four feet away from the foundation.
We were going hunting. Everything needed for 8+ day in the wilderness was with us. We even had a popup camper for our base camp along with tent for the spike camp. To me, sending us back was absolutely nonsense. We had CB radio, cell phone, everything! We even had the whole freeway all to ourselves;)
One thing we didn’t have a whole lot of was time.
Again, our 1st intention was to stay put, but the DOT wouldn’t allow it. and I could understand that.
This is probably the number 1 reason that people get into trouble outdoors. They have a limited amount of time for vacation and they are determined to do things that are ill advised and place themselves and others at risk.
snow rakes with extension handle sections are used on steeper and high roofs. you can reach 40 feet away you can work from a ladder if needed.
In western Canada, and especially the north, it is recommended that you have survival gear for any extended road trip - blankets, candles, food (chocolate bars) plus be sure you have air in the spare tire, etc.
One group of kids I heard of went 4-wheeling down the power lines. None were dressed for -40 - sneakers and windbreakers, since the jeep was warm. It got stuck in a drift, they couldn’t get it out. One walked back to town (8 mi) and was found disoriented wandering down the street and taken to hospital; he lost a few toes. Another was found at the river bank outside town, where he fell trying to climb the bank and died. The other two burned the jeep tyres but still froze to death in the vehicle.
You hear stories from time to time in parts of Canada; the question is - you are in a relatively windfree and somewhat insulated container - but no heat once the gas runs out. How long can you stay warm? With thick blankets and food, a weekor three. Without, a few hours. Snowmobile suits, for example, keep you warm at -30 in a strong wind. A car’s single ply glass is not a great insulator. The big deal is no wind and usually, no leaks from the wind blowing cold air in.
Walking in deep snow is tough; a blizzard usually means a white-out and you have no idea where you are going; if you are lucky, you can see the fenceposts and follow the road without stumbling into 4 feet of snow in the ditch. You certainly will have trouble driving any decent speed if you can’t see; and snow tends to drift, meaning you may not realize until too late that you are stuck in a 6-foot deep snowdrift dune built up behind some obstacle beside the road - not to mention hitting other cars or walkers.
The onset of hypothermia means you don’t think straight. So it’s less likely that someone can actually find their way in an unfamiliar situation.
I have driven in good visibility but with a drift of snow blowing across the road at 30mph, making it look like the road (the whole landscape) is flowing sideways across your track; very disorienting, and on a prarie with very few cues you may find yourself of in the ditch before you realize it.
Not to mention icy patches. Generally those news reports showing cars spinning and sliding into each other (with waltz music playing) are in places like Atlanta where this weather is rare, the temperature is close to zero and the ice is wet enough to be uncontrollably slippery; but even at -10 or -30, enough traffic can polish a layer of snow into sheet ice - usually at intersections where people skid stoppijng and then spin tires starting up again.
Snow days are like any other time off. If your employer pays you or has some arragement, great. Generally either you are paid by the hour or day (did you show up? No? No pay!) or you are paid regardless. (Good luck finding that job!). It’s a rare event that results in a snow day in a typical wintery area. Not more than once every 4 or 5 years… School closures are more common because many rural schools can’t allow kids to wait around for the bus or walking home off the bus, etc.
If it takes you hours to shovel your driveway, you need a better shovel or a shorter driveway. If there’s 12 inches of snow on the street, and the city hasn’t plowed yet, what’s the point of shovelling and getting stuck at the end of the driveway? Yes, get up an hour earlier if you didn’t shovel most of it last night. Besides, some places the city plows a big lump across the driveway anyway - you’re not going anywhere til that’s shovelled.
I used to just run over the snow (lazy me) when I had a nice light Honda Civic hatchback years ago. We didn’t get a lot of snow, it just never melted until spring -packed down nicely. Then one day a friend dropped by in his Aerostar, parked, and sank to his axles - relative weight distribution, I guess. We needed another guy to get a 4-wheeler and pull him out.
As others said, it has to be a peculiarly warm time to make snowballs or snowmen. Below a certain temperature, snow does not stick well. Rolling a 2 or 3 foot ball is not difficult. You have to be careful and keep changing direction or you just get a drum, a big cylinder, if you only roll one way. I remember a bunch of York U students once got into trouble in the mid-70’s one night for rolling a bunch of 6-foot high drums onto the road.
I’ve never seen a snowball made rolled downhill. To make a ball, you need soft unpacked snow which has good rolling resistance so you’ll need a good, untouched hill. As it picks up speed, it could break from any bumps it hits.
Snowballs can be a soft lump or an ice rock; and it depends on the thrower’s pitching arm. Usually they are wet and slushy and hurt, or really soft and fluffy and funny. In “Fifth Business” by Roberston Davies, one boy throws a snowball with a stone inside; misses the other kid and hits the pastor’s wife and causing brain damage, setting off a lifelong chain of events.
Some dogs like other animals ahve the body mass and pelt to tolerate snow; smaller, shorthaired dogs - not. Husky sled dogs, for example curl up in the snow overnight, and have hair between the toes to help insulate the paws. Not so much snow as cold. OTOH, animal lovers claim that long-term cold exposure will lead to arthritis and shortened life span. If your dog gets outside then starts lifting paws one or two at a time like they are so cold they hurt - that’s a clue. The local SPCA will investigate and warn over dogs left out here when it’s -30 or -40.
You really want to be careful walking around in a vehicular equivalent of a target practice zone, whether due to slippery conditions, or fog or reduced visibility. Grab your stuff and get onto the sidewalk or as far away as you can to exchange pleasanteries, assuming it’s walkable outside; make sure nobody’s coming first; or if you need a tow truck anyway, you’ll be waiting until then so there’s no hurry.
OTOH, we don’t have to worry about hurricances; just tornadoes in the summer.
Thanks for all the info guys, I feel like a seasoned snow veteran now 
(not really, still can’t stand the cold)
I have a follow-up question regarding the snow shoveling. I have a friend who lives in a cold climate. He says that when it’s cold, he goes out to his car in his driveway, turns it on and leaves it running for 15 mins while he goes back into the house. I told him I was shocked nobody stole his car. Do people really do that or is he just crazy?
What md2000 said - excellent post, dude. Gbro, you’re a lucky fool. I don’t know about the US American highway people, but they don’t close the passes here unless they need to - I don’t second guess that.
We’re not supposed to leave our cars running for 15 minutes, but the reality is that sometimes it’s frosted on the inside where you can’t scrape (the curve of the windows makes it damned near impossible), and you have to wait until it clears to drive. I have always had two sets of keys - one to leave the car running, and the second to get back in. My one beef with my 2005 Corolla is that the manufacturer has made it IMPOSSIBLE for me to lock it while it’s running - thanks for nothing, Toyota.
You might also be interested to know that we plug our cars in outside when it’s cold enough, too, and I have never had an extension cord stolen. I’ve never even had it unplugged - there’s a certain etiquette that makes it extremely uncool to unplug someone else’s car and not re-plug it, and I suppose if it’s cold enough to plug your car in, it’s too cold for punk-ass kids to run around unplugging them on people.
I let my car run for about 15 min too. But, car theft isn’t an issue where I live. Not to many car thieves about at 6am miles from the closest town.