As some of y'all may know, there was a moderate snow yesterday which left anywhere from 15-25cm (6-12 inches) of snow in parts of VA and NC. It was the nice, powdery snow though, so things could have been worse. We managed to get around the neighbourhood in the rear-wheel drive 325i, although the sport package meant the front bumper acted more like a plow. "You don't need AWD" was the phrase of the day. Oh, I had lots of fun drifting too

The quirk with Virginia is that "counties" are independent of "cities". There are political ramifications, but when it comes to snow-clearing the system is absurd. "Cities" have their own transportation budget, including snow removal. VDOT only takes care of major roads within "counties" and interstates.

So 24 hours after the snow has stopped and the sun is shining, the major highways are completely clear. But since I live on a city/county line, VDOT was kind enough to plow and treat the Albemarle Co. portion of the road and dump it all at the stoplight. Once past the stoplight (border), the road is snow-covered OR plowed so badly that a thin sheet of snow and ice remains on the road (which is worse than snow). The City doesn't get state help, probably because it can't afford it. Same road, same amount of traffic, appalling difference in road condition.

It doesn't get much dumber than that. I'm SO moving out of this state ASAP. At least Maryland can plow its roads in a consistent manner.

In the meanwhile, for y'all's enjoyment, a couple of pics.



Neighbourhood road. Trust me, Highway 3 wasn't much better. It's like driving in Finland





I powerslid into my driveway. Fast way to push the snow aside.



We don't need no stinkin' four-wheel drive! And certainly none of them pickups.