Hey everyone! Today I thought I’d do a fun little post on myths surrounding the weather phenomenon of snow! I know snow is always featured around Christmas movies and items, so I thought I would do this post for anyone who isn’t familiar with snow, or may be new to it, or just doing it wrong.

To be honest, I don’t know if all of these are actually myths as I’ve lived in northern Illinois all my life and always had snow.

But here we go!

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Snow Myth #1

Snow is just fluffy sand, right?

Wrong! When I was in grade school a friend of mine who had moved to Illinois from Alabama revealed to me that the first time she saw snow she ran out and got the shock of her life when she realized how cold the snow was. In her mind snow was just white, fluffy sand-like material, not cold, wet, icicles. She didn’t have the best experience with it…

Snow Myth #2

The news says 3-5 inches is expected, so it’s best to wait until all the snow falls and then clean it all off in one go, right?

Wrong! Snow can get absurdly heavy, and it also tends to freeze to the ground making it harder to shovel away. It’s best to clean off your cars and driveways a few times while it’s still falling and then once more when the snow stops. How often and how many times varies depending on how much is falling and how fast it’s falling, so keep an eye out. Once you see it has lightly covered everything then head on out. Your back will thank you for it later!

Snow Myth #3

I don’t have to clean my whole car off, right? I mean, the wind will just clean it off for me!

Wrong! Actually, right but don’t do this. The wind will knock off all that snow alright, right onto the car behind you! You could cause an accident behind you so just take the extra two minutes and clean off that snow on the car, not just the snow on the windows.

Snow Myth #4

The local government has giant snow plow trucks that clean off the street, so I’m just going to push all the snow out there and they can clean it off for me, right?

Wrong! Yes, the snow plows will move the snow off the street… and back onto your driveway! Snow plows won’t detail their work, they just clear off the street as best as they can and move on. When you get too much snow on your shovel as you’re pushing it along it overflows off the ends, and that’s exactly what happens to the snow plow. You end up with a little mountain of snow at the end of your driveway, and usually it’s heavy wet snow. Just shovel the snow off onto the space next to your driveway, and don’t shovel it out to the street, it’ll make a bigger mess!

Snow Myth #5

I can drive the same as I would on a dry, sunny day, right?

Wrong! Very wrong! You don’t want to drive like a snail because that’ll cause accidents but you can’t drive as you normally would. Give yourself bigger spaces in between cars and brake slowly and way ahead of time. If you’re driving by an empty field slow down, snow can drift back onto the road. And if you feel your car start to slide don’t slam on the brake, it’ll make it worse! Instead just allow your car to slow down and driving into the skid helps you regain control.

Snow Myth #6

Oh! I saw the cutest snow car scraper in the store, it was attached to a nice warm mitten. I’m going to get it because it’s super practical, right?

Wrong! I mean, yes it’ll keep your hand warm but it won’t help you clean anything off that isn’t at arm’s length. I don’t know about you, but I am little, so I wouldn’t be able to reach anything! Do yourself a favor, get some warm gloves or mittens, a regular snow scraper, and stop by the dollar store for a broom. The scraper will help you get the ice off but if you follow the advice for Snow Myth #2 you’ll know that if you get outside early enough it’ll be easy to just brush off the snow with the broom. Plus, if you’re short like me, you can clean the top of the car very easily!

While we’re at it, don’t step in the snow you just brushed off and clean a bit around the car beforehand. Stepping on the snow crunches it into the ground and makes it hard to get off, even after attacking the little shoe prints with the shovel.

Snow Myth #7

Oh it’s not much snow, one person can handle it, right?

Wrong! It goes so much faster with more than one person, not just because there’s multiple people cleaning, but because it’s more fun! You can chit chat and laugh together. Snow shoveling can be a lot of work when it’s coming down fast and thick so just get the job done and then everyone can come back in for hot cocoa!

Snow Myth #8

It’s cloudy out, I’ll just leave my sunglasses at home. I won’t need them, right?

Wrong! The snow is extremely reflective so bring them along just in case. If the sun comes out you’ll be squinting the whole way to your destination. Of course, I’m pretty light sensitive so this one might actually just be me…

Snow Myth #9

I want a white Christmas because everyone is cozy at home, right?

Wrong! Remember those evil snow plow trucks? Well in each truck there’s a dedicated employee working to clear those roads instead of being home, warm and safe with his or her family. My dad is one of them! I remember one Christmas when I was so sad because my dad was called into work to plow the streets. I was at my cousin’s house so we still played the night away but I was still missing my dad when it came time to open presents.

Snow Myth #10

I know exactly where my driveway is! I mean, I drive into it every day! Even if it hasn’t been cleaned off, I know exactly where to turn, right?

Wrong! When a fresh blanket of snow has fallen and the plow hasn’t arrived then you can’t tell where your driveway is. You can buy those reflective stakes or put something on the ends of your driveway to see where you have to turn. They’re extremely helpful, especially if you have a long, winding driveway.

Of course, driving on the snow will smash it all onto the driveway and become impossible to shovel off (Snow Myth # 6) but you do NOT want to be the one on the street when the snow plow comes by and has to navigate around your car (you’ll be trapped by snow mountains and plus everyone will hate you) or when the police comes and gives you a huge ticket (can vary by where you live but this is huge in my town and in Chicago).

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I know I just spent the whole post telling you how terrible snow can be but it’s got it’s perks. It does help everything feel more like the holiday season and is pretty to look at. It just also causes some problems in life!

If you live in a warm, no-snow climate, tell me if any of these were myths you thought were true. And if you live in a cold, snowy climate, let me know if any of these get on your nerves (like the people that don’t clean their snow off!).

Thanks for reading!