re: the snow
I'm in the Blue Ridge and this will be my second winter.
We only had three snowfalls last year and they were pretty much gone in a day or two. I'm at a lower elevation, but I'm stll prepared. At higher elevations like 3,000 ft. and north of us, they get a lot more snow. Old timers remember some pretty bad winters up here.
BTW, I don't miss the Canadian winters, but I don't mind the cold winter here.