In some states, all it takes is the mere threat of snow to call it a snow day. In other states, it takes more than two feet of snowfall before they will even think about canceling school. Despite the hundreds of car accidents that occur in snowy Utah weather, snow days are rare. It seems that it snows every winter in Utah, and residents are expected to know how to drive safely in the snow without causing a car accident. But in other areas of the country — like the lower eastern part of the United States where snow is rare — this winter has brought quite a few snow days and even a "snowpocalypse." Â
Â
A typical snow day in Utah usually means there's enough snow in the morning that the snow plows can't clear the roads in time for the morning commute. Even when Utah residents received four feet of snow at night, if it stops in time for the snow plows to get around and put enough salt on the ground, school is still on. Snow days in Utah are all about timing — and even a little bit of luck, for the children.Â
This winter we've watched as comparatively slight snow fall has brought many southern cities to a grinding halt. How can less than an inch of snow shut a city like Atlanta down in the South, when Rocky Mountain residents scrape off ten inches of snow to prepare for the average morning commute? In other regions of the United States where snow is less common, they don't have the infrastructure or the equipment to deal with the snow. Why have a budget for snow plows when you rarely need them? Any snow at all — even the prediction of snow — is enough to cancel school in these areas. Traveling in winter conditions without the proper equipment can be dangerous.
To shed some light on what it takes to call a snow day across the United States, Reddit user atrubetskoy created a map using a combination of local news reports, user response and average snowfall levels from NOAA maps to approximate the different levels of snow in a 24-hour period to cancel or postpone school. If icy roads cause hundreds of car accidents in a place like Utah with the equipment to deal with it, just think of the amount of car accidents snow causes in places without the means to clear it.
 A typical snow day in Utah usually means there's enough snow in the morning that the snow plows can't clear the roads in time for the morning commute. Even when Utah residents received four feet of snow at night, if it stops in time for the snow plows to get around and put enough salt on the ground, school is still on. Snow days in Utah are all about timing — and even a little bit of luck, for the children.Â
This winter we've watched as comparatively slight snow fall has brought many southern cities to a grinding halt. How can less than an inch of snow shut a city like Atlanta down in the South, when Rocky Mountain residents scrape off ten inches of snow to prepare for the average morning commute? In other regions of the United States where snow is less common, they don't have the infrastructure or the equipment to deal with the snow. Why have a budget for snow plows when you rarely need them? Any snow at all — even the prediction of snow — is enough to cancel school in these areas. Traveling in winter conditions without the proper equipment can be dangerous.
To shed some light on what it takes to call a snow day across the United States, Reddit user atrubetskoy created a map using a combination of local news reports, user response and average snowfall levels from NOAA maps to approximate the different levels of snow in a 24-hour period to cancel or postpone school. If icy roads cause hundreds of car accidents in a place like Utah with the equipment to deal with it, just think of the amount of car accidents snow causes in places without the means to clear it.
SHARE
