Or most people. If it is actually blizzard conditions, one should have a very serious reason to be on the road. If not, stay at home instead of driving. Snow days are called for schools. Maybe work in general also?
I think this is very regional. I have never had a snow day in my entire life because we get snow several months per year.
I think the "snow day" phenomenon happens in cities where snow is rare enough that there is no infrastructure in place to take care of it (having that would be more expensive than just accepting everything stops a couple of days per year) AND not every car has winter tyres.
After 60cm snow on one night everyone is expected to be at school and work, on time, just like any other day. It should be noted that as a driver I also expect the roads to be bare at 7am even after that kind of night, and amazingly they almost always are. At least all major roads will be, but residential streets will not. https://static-cdn.sr.se/sida/images/109/b924f65c-8cc4-4332-...
Where there is a lot of snow the infrastructure handles it. Snow plows run all night long. There is 60cm of snow on the ground, but at most 3cm on the roads, and plenty of sand/salt underneath so that there are no ice spots.
Where there is little snow they don't have plows or salt/sand. 4cm of snow and you better stay home because the roads are covered in ice, and nobody can help you.
If roads are covered with ice then you should have studded tyres or at least M+S. If even 10% of the cars drove around with the same tyres all year, I'd stay at home too (even if MY car had studded tyres).
Where I live, temperatures between 2C to -5C make the worst driving conditions (you're typically dealing with a mix of freezing rain, snow, ice, and slush).
Even though it's colder, -20C and just snowing isn't as bad to drive in.
Here in the snowbelt we usually see a few snow days per year, especially in rural areas. Not because of snow accumulation, which is easy enough to deal with, but because of visibility while it is snowing, which can be reduced to zero. The roadways are closed during these events and it becomes against the law to be on the road.
The last 2 jobs I've had we've always been told pretty explicitly if the roads are bad with snow DO NOT try to get to work.
Hell, I've been told I've not even to walk to work when it's snowing. ALthough saying that the last time it snowed here badly, I tried to walk to shop and fell over twice. Maybe my employer just knows me too well...
Yes, but the experience of a software developer is not representative of most people's experiences. A lot of jobs they're going to want you there if the roads are not literally closed, come hell or high water.
The temp doesn't rise above freezing in Minneapolis for 3 straight months of the year. There is snow on the roadways for at least 1/3 of the year. Your solution is that no one in Minneapolis should drive from November through March.
Not only are both your generalizations about winter untrue for most years, you know the difference between "snow on the road" and "blizzard conditions" if you live in Minnesota.
This is a very locational consideration. In areas that regularly have snow and ice, everyone will have winter tires on their cars, studded if icing conditions are expected, or even snow chains, and a big crew of snowplow operators will keep the roads relatively clear of snow at all times. Starting with salting the roads in preparation for cold weather, and then sending out the crews the moment there is a few millimeters of snow on the road.
I have never experienced a "snow day", although there have been days with problematic traffic conditions due to snow. (Usually due to an experienced or unprepared driver going off the road on the first day of snow).
I live in Norway and beg to differ. We see temperatures down to -40 C in winter, and the kids love it. We don't have "snow days", it's literally not a thing here.
All you need is proper clothing, some seal fat for rubbing on your face, and cold weather experience among the adults (checking the kids faces for warning signs of frostbite, etc.).
95% of Norwegian babies and toddlers sleep outside in their prams (in sleeping bags) unless the temperature goes below -20 C. Then they come inside for sleeping, but will still be outside playing.
I was baptised in -40 C weather. The temperature inside the church was just above freezing. My parents did take steps to ensure I was safely warm when outside, but there was no question of staying home.
And what about coats & shoes? I know this comes as a shock to people but large swaths of your neighbor school children do not have access to those items.
Summarizing, pram is short for perambulator, which Americans call strollers. In Nordic countries, it's believed to be healthy for infants to sleep in fresh cold air. To the horror of outsiders, babies and toddlers in prams are commonly left parked outside of establishments in freezing weather while the parent is shopping or dining inside.
