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We don't get much where I am, and I figure when we move south to Raleigh, snow may be even more scarce. Am I right? I love a few good snowstorms every winter.
It depends on your definition of a "snow storm". You may get one to two snowfalls ranging from 1-3", sometimes a little more. Every now and then a 'big' storm rolls through and we may get 6 inches.
1-2 inches down here is considered a big "snow storm". Make sure to get in line early for water, bread, and generators-
This will be our 4th winter here. The first two we had no snow. Last winter we had two storms, I believe. One didn't stick and the second we had 6" which lasted... two days I think the yearly average for snow in this area is 6".
Having lived in the are my whole life, I can say that the "typical" winter here gets 2-3 snowstorms of about 2-5 inches each, on average on in Jan and one in Feb/March. Note that that is "statistically typical".
In fact, we got almost no snow to speak of from 2005-2008. This past winter, we had our "usual" 2 snowstorms, one of about 4" and one of about 6". Be prepared for everything in town to shut down completely when this happens, and please bite your tongue if you're tempted to make fun of the locals for this. We don't have nearly the amount of snow removal equipment they do up north, and we also don't get the practice people DC and up do driving in snow.
The one "freak storm" in recent history (20 inches) cited by CHTransplant was in January, 2000; the bad ice storm that caused so much trouble was in Dec, 2002 [it's actually VERY rare for us to get frozen precipitation in December at all. I've seen more snows in NOVEMBER than I have in December!]. We actually get a lot of bad ice storms here; we seem to be right in a climatological area where they will get rain to our south, snow to our north, and we get ice (lucky us). That means lots of trees down and power outages, but none of the fun of snow!
But to answer your question, yes, we get snow here, and you need a shovel but you don't need a snow-blower, for example.
You don't really need a snow shovel. During those very rare times when's it's deep enough to need a shovel, everything closes down, so you don't need to go anywhere. Otherwise, it melts very quickly.
You don't really need a snow shovel. During those very rare times when's it's deep enough to need a shovel, everything closes down, so you don't need to go anywhere. Otherwise, it melts very quickly.
A garden shovel is good enough.
I used to think that until I used a garden shovel on my driveway, and then the ruts left between strokes all froze. It was worse than before! Maybe it depends on what kind of driveway you have, incline, whether it's in the shade, etc (I agree you don't need it for the sidewalk, but if you need to get to work within a day or two, shoveling the driveway WELL on the day it falls, before it freezes, makes it a non-issue there). But we bought a snoa shovel after that, and now I actually LIKE shoveling the driveway (at least when it's about 5" or less, which of course it almost always is) knowing how clean and dry it will be the next day. I have a pretty long driveway and they don't plow my immediate street, so I need to shovel that, too.
You don't really need a snow shovel. During those very rare times when's it's deep enough to need a shovel, everything closes down, so you don't need to go anywhere. Otherwise, it melts very quickly.
A garden shovel is good enough.
That's the tool of choice for me too...a flat garden shovel with a long wood handle. Thank goodness my driveway gets full sun in the winter, so quick melting is also a big help.
You don't really need a snow shovel. During those very rare times when's it's deep enough to need a shovel, everything closes down, so you don't need to go anywhere. Otherwise, it melts very quickly. A garden shovel is good enough.
Given the one or two snow events each year, I think it's a good idea to a have a decent snow shovel to be able to keep steps and walks clear to avoid the risk of ice from the daytime thaw/overnight freeze cycle. And when it does snow a few inches or more, a good snow shovel makes quick work of it - much better than a garden shovel.
Of course, you can't buy a decent snow shovel here. All they sell are those crappy stamped aluminum things that bend if you look at them cross eyed.
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