What does a Houston transplant need to know to thrive in a Pitt Winter? (Pittsburgh: chapel, to live in)

[SammyKhalifa]

Hibernate!

Haha. Honestly, it isn't as bad as it is other places (but I still complain about it, heehee). Still, I know at least MY car hates the hills in the snow, and the City of Pittsburgh seems to want to use tax dollars for anything other than plowing my street. My life got a lot better when I bought snow tires.

Steelcity--really? I have a Mazda3 hatch and that thing's an absolute sled for me. Everything's cool until I try to go up a hill.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

Steelcity--really? I have a Mazda3 hatch and that thing's an absolute sled for me. Everything's cool until I try to go up a hill.

Maybe I'm just used to driving in the winter. I grew up in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, after all, and PennDOT never exactly did a bang-up job plowing/salting in the Northeastern corner of the state.

[Scientist Mom]

My husband and I grew up in PA and OH but lived in Houston for more than 10 years before moving to Pittsburgh a few years ago. Our kids were 1 and 4 at the time.

Kids: will need winter jackets, snow pants, snow boots, hats and gloves or mittens. At least one pair of gloves/ mittens should be waterproof. I recommend at least 2 hats and 2-4 pairs of gloves since they always seem to get misplaced. Lands End is good for boots. They have some really good ones for kids that cost around $20. You should be able to hand these down from your older to younger son. And Yes get some sleds.

Adults: winter jackets, hats, gloves, scarf, snow boots. Plan on getting a pair of long underwear if you have you have to be outside for >15 min on a really cold day. I recommend getting a pair of snowpants so that you stay dry when you sled with the kids. They should last you for many years.

Home/ auto: snow shovels, rock salt, scraper (preferably with brush) for each car. The type of tires you will need may depend on where you live. We live in the city and find that all season tires that are in good condition suit our needs. If you are somewhere more rural you may need snow tires.

You are really planning ahead. Please do try to enjoy our summer before worrying too much about the winter. Welcome to Pittsburgh.

[tranceFusion]

I'd suggest the biggest thing you need to be prepared is an indoor hobby. It doesn't usually snow large amounts at once here where you are going to suddenly be holed up inside the house without the proper equipment. It will just come down a little bit each day, with the weather staying cold, gray, and windy all day every day. And, it's not something the kids will necessarily go play in constantly.. its a slushy/refrozen dirty mess.

People go about their normal lives - you just need to plan to wake up a little early through the winter to clear that fresh 1/2" from the car/driveway.

Of course there are bigger snows that will be good for sledding and where you will want to break out the snow gear, but in general it is a lot different than the storms people closer to the coast get where it just dumps in bulk and then melts in a couple days..

[Augie6]

I somewhat surprised about the down play of Pittsburgh winters.... The snow is not always the issue but the COLD is a pain!!! A winter jacket and some sweaters will be fine.

Like most posters said, it determines where you live and the ammount of time you plan on being outside.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

I have a small Euro sedan and switching from all seasons to winter tires made all the difference in the world. Also, my street never gets plowed so I'm always stuck in awful conditions.

I should also point out that no one really "learns" to drive in winter weather as condition always are varied.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

My Saab has Cooper all-season tires on it (I'd look to see which tire, but I really don't care enough to go outside) and it did just fine all winter.

My Jeep has BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/As ... and slides all over when it gets snowy/icy.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Purchasing winter tires will be the best money you could possibly spend.

Never owned a set and never will. Waste of money for 4-5 days a year. Most of the time we don't get much snow at all and when we do it melts in a day or two. This isn't a snow belt. You want snow you need to go an hour north or east. Pittsburgh gets missed most all the time. On the other hand, if you haver rear wheel drive, THEN I can see putting a set on the rear. That I do understand.

[BrianTH]

We get way more than 4-5 days with at least some snow/slush on the roads. Days with precipitation runs about 50% in the winter:

Pittsburgh days


What distinguishes us from places with lake effect snow is primarily that we get a lot less snow when it does fall. Erie, for example, only has about 60% days with precipitation in January and December to our 50%, but it averages over twice as much total snowfall:

Pittsburgh snowfall


Erie days


Erie snowfall


However, it doesn't take feet of snow at a time to cause driving issues.

So again, I don't winter tires are necessary, but to suggest they wouldn't be useful for more than 4-5 days a year is highly misleading.

[rhondee]

Originally Posted by HillsHollow

LL Bean’s fall/spring warm up jackets are perfect for the damp cold falls and springs around here. Best investment I ever made.

Snow tires for the car. A MUST with the hills around here, I know people from the south don’t think about them a lot. Get them on in early Nov.

Woolrich has a great line as well and many of the designs are more Euro inspired than other outdoor clothing lines that I have seen.