This is what stopped the greater Cincinnati, OH area today -- about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of snow. At last count, there were 175 school, work and group closings. If you look at the local traffic cameras, there's almost no one on the roads. Accidents were abundant. The photo was taken looking out my front door.
The difference between snow in New Hampshire and snow in Ohio? Attitude! In New Hampshire, winter is a way of life -- you go skiing, skating, sledding. The kids make snow forts, throw snow balls, create snowmen. The road crews know what they're doing and stay on top of things. Rarely do schools close for anything less than six inches of snow -- and not even that if the roads are plowed!
In southwestern Ohio, winter is nothing but a nuisance. When it snows, people panic. The lines at the grocery stores are long (in case that half-inch keeps you in the house for a month!) and people buy batteries, snow shovels, milk and bread. Road crews dream of Spring when they can go back to road construction. They see dollar signs with every snow flake because they can put in long days putting SO much salt on the road that you can literally shovel it off in great scoops. Schools close when snow is FORECAST, even though it often never arrives. Local television stations send out multi-person crews to cover exciting snow news -- people scraping their windshields and putting ice-melt on their walkways.
In New Hampshire, this storm would have come and gone almost unnoticed. In Ohio, you'd think the blizzard of 78 had hit the Cincinnati area.
Either way, I'm in my house, safe and warm. Rain is due in this afternoon, so we don't even need to shovel -- the rain will wash the 1/4 inch of snow away on it's own.
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