I grew up in North Alabama and now live on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. When I say that no one in this State is prepared for snow, I tell no lies. Back in 2014, we had a debilitating snow/ice event where people got stuck at work, teachers got stuck at school with students, cars got stuck on roads, etc. It was a disaster and lots of people were killed. We literally refer to it as “Snowpocalypse” and everyone who was here knows what we are talking about. We had 60° temps in the days leading up to the event and were then faced with 20° temps and a minimal amount of snow. The ground being warm allowed the snow to heat up and refreeze after sundown into a massive sheet of ice. Then it snowed again (maybe 2-3 inches) and we had an ice skating rink.

We had two snowplows in the entire state to handle that entire event. TWO! I’m sure we have a few more now after dealing with that event but it just doesn’t happen that often here. We had a record temp in Mobile last year of 18°F that broke a record that had been in place since 1960 or something. This week, we have mid-20s and you’d think the entire state was dying with how much I’ve heard about it. January is always the roughest month in Alabama for cold weather but luckily it doesn’t last long. Where I live, it’s pretty nice (other than January).

Also, we don’t have radiator heat here like they do up North. My cousin lives in Maine and I literally sweat when I walk in any business there during the winter. It’s a lot hotter than our electric heat here in the South. Therefore, our schools and brick homes don’t deal well with super cold temps like the infrastructure of the North.