Quote:
Originally Posted by Undertones
That kind of snow is not unusual here in Alberta. I find geographic cultural differences amusing.
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It wasn't the quantity of the snow that is still causing problems, but the rate at which it accumulated. Most places in the northeast US can easily handle 2ft blizzards and have all roads passable within a day, so long as the snowfall rate stays under 1-2" per hour (normally in the northeast 2" per hour is considered exceptionally heavy snowfall rate). The problem this storm caused is that at the peak, it was snowing more than 6" per hour.
So instead of the plow trucks being able to continuously plow a few inches of snow off the roads throughout the storm, they were overwhelmed quickly to the point where the snow is literally
too deep to plow. At that point you need rotary plows (basically massive snow blowers) or construction equipment (such as backhoes) to clear roads, both of which are significantly slower than plowing.
I too once laughed at how the southern US handles snow, until I witnessed it firsthand in Texas. With no snowplows, when it actually does snow a few inches, it will soon melt into slush, then refreezes into ice the next night. Then all roads for the next few days will have smooth tire ruts with several inches of jagged, solid ice in between. Changing lanes on the highway wasn't fun.