were just having that january thaw too. i cant remember this happening every year. got up to 45 two days ago, today supposed to be close to that. then we are supposed to dip down to -6 for a day or 2.
my mother used to tell me about when she was a kid in montreal. it was like driving through a tunnel she said, the snowbanks were higher than the vehicles. my 10 years in montreal, about 10 yrs ago, i never saw anything like that amount of snow. also my ex girlfriend who lived on a farm showed me a picture of her and her brother as kids
sitting on the top of the clothesline pole, which was only sticking out 1-1/2 ft from probably a 8-10 ft pole.
i hope it is cyclical, and we havent mangled the earth, but if so, i hope i never have to see those amounts of snow in my lifetime. what i've seen up till now is already more than i wanted to.
btw chains and studs are oldschool. we, and the northern states have winter tires/ice tires now. studless and supposedly good on ice. i find you cant really do anything for ice, but they are a miracle on packed snow.
good luck in the UK, i remember last time you guys got a dump of snow, it was complete mayhem.