[qbasic_forever]

Having grown up in the midwest and moved to the PNW as an adult, the PNW does not manage snowfall in populated areas. This is not a fault of the people but rather the infrastructure--there just aren't enough plows, de-icing agents, etc. In Ohio for example when winter storm warnings occur there will be armies of plow drivers mobilized and removing snow almost the minute it hits. They realize the sooner you can get it off the road the easier it will be in the long run to keep everything clear. In Seattle unfortunately it will snow on the roads, stay there and get compacted, icy, hard, etc. and be much harder to remove (and much, much more dangerous to drive on especially with the hills in the city).

[AstroDogCatcher]

Exactly the same situation in the UK - snow is common but rarely persistent enough to justify the infrastructure investment to deal with it. Also, having an excuse to combine moaning about the weather with moaning about our inept government is basically enough to trigger a collective national orgasm.

[midasuni]

Plenty of plows and gritters in Scotland (all with names like Lord Coldemort and Buzz Lightyear)

A fair number of plows in northern England too, the A66 across the Pennines is often blocked. Further south it’s typically just gritters spreading salt on the roads, but it’s rare to have the type of snow you need to shift.

We had heavy snow in the south east and northern france back in December 2010, my flight to the US was cancelled on the 22nd, I managed to get one from Paris to Newark for the 23rd, and had to drive from Bedfordshire to Paris. Felt like a massive blizzard driving though it, could barely see the tracks of the vehicle 800 yards ahead coming down through france.

Landed in a clear New York on the 23rd, but then went out for dinner opposite the hotel in Tribecca, possibly that night. The snow came down, and kept coming. First time I’d ever seen a snow plow in person, and the drifts the next morning with covering taxis. It was a different world to the 3-6” of heavy snow we were used to.

[steelstraw]

But is it worth having such infrastructure in the PNW? How often would it be used compared to Ohio?

[reilly3000]

Spokane in eastern WA stands in contrast, where there is an average annual snowfall of 44 inches and 17 inches of rain. Seattle averages 5 inches of snow and 40 inches of rain. Hence Spokane maintains an enviable fleet of snowplowing equipment and a deep bench of citizens-plowers… Seattle has little of that sort but quite a bit of rainwater harvesting.

[noahtallen]

Exactly. In the 20-21 winter, there was one meaningful snowfall which stuck for two days. The “big” road nearby got plowed maybe once, along with the interstate getting regular plowing. That’s “good enough” for most people.

In the mountains in the PNW, there seems to be plenty of heavy-duty equipment for snow. But in the cities at 0 elevation, it’s just not worth the money, unless it starts snowing more frequently!

[qbasic_forever]

It's not--I agree and think the PNW manages snow just fine on the whole. It's why these comments trying to blame the drivers are so silly.

[redisman]

0-5 days per year