Over here in Canada we've had snow for some weeks now. Where I am, in southern Ontario, it's pretty mild; there's only around five inches on the ground. Further north it's more harsh. The temperature, as I write this at exactly noon is a warm -4.8 deg C though with windchill it feels more like -12. Having moved from the UK last year I am rather amused by how much England grinds to a halt the moment there's snow - certainly in Canada it doesn't begin to be a problem until there are several feet of snow on the ground, and even then in major cities regular gritting and plowing keeps the city roads clear for traffic. It's still treacherous, but hey - winter means snow. In contrast southern Ontario can hit temperatures of +35deg C and above in summer, which would have everything in England grinding to a halt as "too hot"... so really you're damned if it's cold and damned if it's not