To think there is a complete over reaction to a bit of snow?

[MycatsaPirate]

Firstly I'm on the south coast of England but I lived in Scotland for 23 years where they get proper snow. It wasn't unusual to have months of icy pavements and roads and it was regularly below zero.

The amount of snow that has fallen in England (particularly the south) is pitiful and the BBC have devoted their entire morning to it. Reporting live from Canterbury is some poor reporter who has to pan the camera round to the grass where it looks like they may have had a heavy frost.

I have already seen two threads about ice and snow and how they can't possibly leave the house today.

Every single time there is snow in England, the whole place seems to grind to a halt. It's actually embarrassing.

1cm of snow is not dramatic, nor will it stop you going about your daily life. Just wrap up warm and leave earlier than usual.

Scotland, I apologise for the BBC this morning. You must all have been cringing into your cornflakes.

[WeedlesHatOfDisappointment]

ChuckSnowballs- It isn't the snow, it is the complete reaction to it, the panic, the lack of driving skills, the lack of gritters and clearing machines.

This.

[bloodyteenagers]

It's like I had a crystal ball. I mentioned this on a thread yesterday that today the country will come to a stand still because of of the dusting of icing sugar.

I live down south now and the drama over a bit of snow is hysterical.

Genuine question why don't drivers here have snow chains? It's not like the white stuff is a rarity and only happens once every 70 years

[PinkBunnyOnesieOnOrder]

Oh I think I prefer Sally 😂

The reaction to it is incredibly embarrassing.

BBC reporting of it is utterly cringeworthy.

[BreconBeBuggered]

We've had very little snow in our bit of the 'south' (these things are relative) but it's very very icy and as a fall could have serious consequences for me and I live up a hill, I'll be staying indoors. DH, however, managed the journey into work just peachy, and is now waiting to hear how many of his colleagues, who live much closer to the office than him, couldn't even get their cars out. This is a regular winter occurence. We moved here from Scotland some years ago and haven't seen proper dig-your-car-out snow since.

[FoofFighter]

Sorry but Scotland is not any better, 1-2 cm of snow at 4pm last night, resulted in us taking 2 hrs to get back from nursery, total flipping gridlock. Usually would be a ten minute drive if that.
Lorries couldn't get up hills, crashes due to black ice further compounding the issue. Everyone was well warned and the gritters still hadn't been out.

[Marynary]

The fact that it doesn't snow much in England means that compared with countries where there is a lot of snow, we don't have much equipment or resources to cope with snow as it's not worth the expense for extra gritters or ploughs etc just to keep things going on the chance that it does snow heavily and cars don't have the appropriate tyres. Therefore things do grind to a halt quite easily if there is a bit of snow.
Having said that, I'm not really sure why there is so much media coverage as there hasn't been much disruption in most areas. Perhaps it is a slow news day.

[PovertyPain]

Bloody

Apparently the snow here isn't deep enough and doesn't lie long enough to warrent having snow chains, as the chains would wreck the roads if lots of people used them.

[TheMartiansAreInvadingUs]

People aren't out of practice. They've had any practice at all because snow is unusual in the UK (well bar Scotland of course :))

However, the complete overreaction means that, instead of trying to learn, taking things easy etc..., people panic. And it's seen as the normal reaction to the mere idea of snow.
I was once on the receiving end of verbal abuse to have said I actually quite like the snow!!

In other countries with similar situations (little snow) but no over reaction, people just get on with it the best they can.
They don't use that as an excuse to not go to work. You know the ones who say they can't possibly come because of the snow when a colleague living 1/2 mile away from them is saying there is no snow at all .....

Last thing re ice, steep hills etc...
If you go in the NE/Lake District etc..., you will see that, on small roads, there is some sand/salt on the side of the road. People there will always have a shovel with them in case they get stuck and need said sand on the road.
If you live somewhere with a steep hill and you know what several times a year, you will get caught up and won't be able to get up the slope due to the ice, then maybe, just maybe, it could be an idea to have something similar in place??

[TheMartiansAreInvadingUs]

mary what about people buy said snow tyres for the winter if they are so worried about a dust of snow on the road? It will help with ice and rain too....

It's easy to say that the councils just don't have the quip England. But people don't make any efforts to get their own equipment either.

[TheLivingAsheth]

I remember getting from Hackney to Hammersmith (i.e. east to West London) on a snowy day for work, while pregnant, only to find my colleague who lived 20 minutes walk away had not come in because he "didn't have the right shoes".

[TheLivingAsheth]

20 mins walk from work not my house of course!

[ShelaghTurner]

Oh look. It's the annual "our snow is better than your snow" thread.

Surrey here, the roads and pavements aren't gritted due to it pissing down yesterday and washing it all away. Every surface is like an ice rink. Kids have walked to school, fine, but quite how they're going to skate up a hill is going to be interesting. It hasn't ground to a standstill but it's a pain in the arse. Proper snow would be easier to get around in.

[AmandaK11]

Yes, it is all huge drama whenever there is snow. Almost like when you toss a child in ankle-deep shallows and they start screaming their lungs out as if drowning.

[Otherpeoplesteens]

I lived in the Yorkshire Dales for a while and used to get cut off for days at a time. We managed!

Here in Greater Manchester… a few years ago I remember getting an email on a Monday to say that a training course booked for the Thursday was cancelled "because of the snow forecast." On the day, about six flakes came down.

As a previous poster said, it is quite possible to live up in them hills outside town and be genuinely snowed in while the city below you bathes in above-zero sub-tropical conditions. I have genuine understanding with those people.

But there are FAR too many around here who just take the piss and use it as an excuse for a day off. You'd be amazed how many can't make it to the centre of Manchester, but can curiously make it to the Trafford Centre.

[YouTheCat]

We've got about an inch in Newcastle. Everything is ticking along as normal with me grumbling about having to go to work because it's fucking cold which I do when it's not snowy anyway .

All the schools are open. Public transport is doing its usual thing. There is no drama. I don't think we're even particularly better prepared than the south.

[Wiggler1]

It's not the snow for us it's the ice. My exit out of the road is a very narrow cartway with a very tight turn that can be tricky to navigate at the best of times, this morning it's an ice rink. I can work from home, why add to the traffic and risk crashing through my neighbour's shed?

[Marynary]

mary what about people buy said snow tyres for the winter if they are so worried about a dust of snow on the road? It will help with ice and rain too....

Snow tyres might be better if there is snow but they aren't as good as summer tyres if the temperature is above 7 degrees which is most of the time in the UK, even during winter. They cost quite a bit too so not really worth it to avoid being housebound for a couple of days (if that) a year.

[TheWoodlander]

My Dc's schools have closed. I got them all ready too - could have stayed in bed

We're in Kent. It's only about of inch of snow, if that - but the roads are v icy.

[TheWoodlander]

(schools- as in 1 primary, 1 secondary, both closed)

[Tissunnyupnorth]

Totally agree. Went to the supermarket yesterday, shelves were empty and loads of people had one or two trollers, completely filled up. Spoke to staff who said lots of customers were stocking up for the 'blizzard'

[antimatter]

My son just got back home from walking to school as he fell backwards and has a big bump on his head.
None if the shoes I am buying in shops have good grip on bar hill walking shoes. This is one of the issues people face today and they all would be better off staying put than breaking limbs.

[derxa]

I'm old enough to remember being properly blocked in by snow on our Scottish farm. The farmer down the road was paid by the council to clear the local roads. Having said that I set off yesterday and in a couple of minutes the weather had turned from sunny to driving snow and I did turn back. I could feel the car about to skid. Take your foot off the accelerator and don't use your brakes!

[PaulAnkaTheDog]

Depends where you live I suppose. We can all judge but not all areas have the same infrastructure in place for snow fall because they don't normally get it bad. If you are used to 'months' of snow and ice then presumably you lived in north Scotland, I'm in the central belt and we wouldn't cope well with that.

[Bluntness100]

I for one don't like snow, I don't like driving in it as it scares me a bit and I had two power cuts last night because of it, I'm in the south east. So although I agree often the media exaggerate it, for a lot of people it causes difficulty.

[YouTheCat]

It didn't used to be like this.

I lived in Lincolnshire and the only time school was shut was if the snow was too deep for the trains and school buses to run (which happened twice - actual proper amount of snow).