[Michigansnowflake]

Oh I do worry, but thats how its done up here. It gets to a point where if you can make it you go, if you cant get out, you dont. We missed a few days that school was opened because we couldnt get out of our drive to the bus stop.

I live 2 miles back in the woods on a hilly, twisty one lane dirt road......I have to drive 3-4 miles to the bus stop. Sometimes it was too icy or just too snowy and the plow guy hadnt been back yet.....but school went on! lol

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Michigansnowflake

When I lived in Se Mi (yuck) schools close with 4-5 inches of snow and I never questioned it.

Up here, we can get 6,7,8 inches of snow over night and the schools will not close.........now I am questioning the easy closure of the schools downstate.

Downstate everything is flat, everything is close together and can be plowed easily.

Up here, everything is hilly, no guard rails ,less or no salt on the roads, kids living back in the woods with trecherous long rides on the bus.....but still, school goes on.

We closed twice this year, both were for wind chills well below zero with 40+ mile an hour winds, we just dont close for snow easily, we cant, its here for too long.

I never realized how wimpy SE MI is when it comes to snow.......ya cant site the record snowfalls either, cause up here we had 160+ inches, more than downstate, even with the records being broken

You should see how it is in other states, here if there's less than an inch of snow they close the schools and half the people won't show up for work.

[Michigansnowflake]

Oh I KNow!

I speak to people in Virginia and other places South. They tell me they close the school if the weather man THINKS there might be snow tomorrow! Hilarious!

[Ivorytickler]

You have to consider what people are prepared for too. Upstate, people have chains and snow tires, not so down state. We get heavy snows so infequently that we aren't prepared to deal with them

I always laugh when my son, who lives in SC, tells me they're closing the schools because it MIGHT snow tomorrow. They don't even wait for the first snowflakes to fall. They're not used to it and not prepared for it so it's hazardous.

If 6 inches of snow is typical, you prepare for it and learn to deal with it. If you see it infrequently, it's something out of the ordinary every time it happens.

[YAZ]

I have never seen chains on tires anywhere in Michigan. Is it even legal?

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by YAZ

I have never seen chains on tires anywhere in Michigan. Is it even legal?

I looked it up on the Michigan DOT website. It is in their FAQ link:

Question: Are tire chains legal in Michigan?

Answer: MCL 257.710 of the Michigan Vehicle Code covers the use of tire chains, and states that a person may "use a tire chain of reasonable proportion upon a vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice, or other condition tending to cause a vehicle to skid." If used, the chain must not come in contact with the surface of the roadway.

MI Drive - Traffic Laws FAQs

I like the last sentence in particular. Makes you wonder if they realize just what they are intended for. I have been scratching my head trying to picture how a set of chains that didn't touch the roadway would actually work. Still drawing a blank on that one. Maybe they meant the cable type is legal as long as the chain that goes around the circumference of the tire doesn't touch the roadway.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Michigansnowflake

When I lived in Se Mi (yuck) schools close with 4-5 inches of snow and I never questioned it.

Up here, we can get 6,7,8 inches of snow over night and the schools will not close.........now I am questioning the easy closure of the schools downstate.

Downstate everything is flat, everything is close together and can be plowed easily.

Up here, everything is hilly, no guard rails ,less or no salt on the roads, kids living back in the woods with trecherous long rides on the bus.....but still, school goes on.

We closed twice this year, both were for wind chills well below zero with 40+ mile an hour winds, we just dont close for snow easily, we cant, its here for too long.

I never realized how wimpy SE MI is when it comes to snow.......ya cant site the record snowfalls either, cause up here we had 160+ inches, more than downstate, even with the records being broken

What I think is that a more hardy people was typically found in the north. They had to be. Many who come from families that lived up there for years were used to small town living, they've lived a rugged rural life for generations. They had grandfathers that walked 5 miles through 5 foot snow drifts to get to school, 4-5-6-7-8 inches of snow is no big deal.

In the southern part of the state, the people are more a city type, not as accustomed to the outdoors. People born in the north who couldn't handle much snow have headed to GR or Detroit for generations also.

[A2Mich]

Originally Posted by Ivorytickler

You have to consider what people are prepared for too. Upstate, people have chains and snow tires, not so down state. We get heavy snows so infequently that we aren't prepared to deal with them

I always laugh when my son, who lives in SC, tells me they're closing the schools because it MIGHT snow tomorrow. They don't even wait for the first snowflakes to fall. They're not used to it and not prepared for it so it's hazardous.

If 6 inches of snow is typical, you prepare for it and learn to deal with it. If you see it infrequently, it's something out of the ordinary every time it happens.

I agree that much of it depends on what the area's typical weather is, and what types of weather they are prepared for. For example, in areas that do not normally experience snow or ice, a freak snowstorm or icestorm would absolutely cripple the area. Let's take somewhere in the South for example...an area that rarely, if ever, receives snow, suddenly gets a storm that drops two inches of snow on them. Now, two inches of snow in Michigan can be laughed at, but in this example area, they are going to have sub-freezing weather for several days, now have 2 inches of snow. No big deal right? These people do not know how to drive in snow, they have no salt-spreaders, and no snowplows. The traffic congestion and accidents alone would probably slow or nearly stop all activity, until the weather broke, or these people were able to get help from people better-prepared. Same with SE Michigan.....our road commissions do not have the same equipment here as they might use in the Up, or even northern LP, as we do not generally receive the same amount of snowfall at any given time. Sure we can handle a few inches to a foot or so at a time, but we're not used to getting 3-4 feet of snow in one snowfall. With our less-versatile equipment, it would take us longer to dig out of 4 feet of snow than say, Marquette or Houghton.

[maybesomeday]

The key is in the location. In the lower states like you said, if it might snow things are shut down.
The question isn’t why you don’t get shut down, its if you can get around.
In those southern states, or even further south here, there are varying levels of driver ability when it comes to snow and ice.
Some of us could get a 1 wheel drive, 3 piston, 300 pound car out of a ravine with enough rocking (kidding if you didn’t catch that)
But many people without snow experience could hit a snow flake and roll five times in the air! (again just kidding) But you get the picture.
Enough of the population in the south of Michigan are not experienced in certain snow conditions to deem it a hazard for all, while north those snow conditions are the norm, and therefore the population there is more accustomed to driving in it, and hence less of a concern.
It's not about the individual, and expecting others to fit what you think should be a suitable level of experience. It is about the reality of what the whole is able to do based on the normal conditions they are forced to tolerate.
Thats like telling a penguin it's stupid that it cant handle 80 degree weather just because we can.

[GlassPipe]

When we lived in Detroit, I was working out in Lake Orion one day. Had a NASTY snow storm brewing. It started and we left the job. Took over 4 hours in traffic to get back to Fraser. Why??? TRAFFIC. Too many self important yuppies who have no idea how to handle a rear wheel drive in an inch of snow. And more obvious - the lack of road crews to get the roads cleared.

Where I grew up in Antrim County (Bellaire, Central Lake, Ellsworth basically) we went to school in 10" overnight snowfalls. As long as the main road was plowed, we went. Very few times I can think of that we did have snow days. Mostly icy roads now that I think of it. But then I'd just go to work with my dad and he'd drop me off at Shanty Creek to go skiing for the day. The road commission up there was amazing - always on top of things before the sun came up. Driving from Grayling into Manceltucky, you'll see where the county line is. Kalkaska County's road is snow packed and Antrim's is plowed clean. Like night and day. All road crews should go up and spend a week with those fellas, they are the best.

Lesson - if you want snow days, move to Detroit. If you want your kids to know HOW to drive in winter weather, live in da nort, eh?