The worst conditions are when you hover right at the freezing mark. It allows a film of water on the snow and ice which makes walking just as hazardous. When the NW or SE get snow or ice it's nothing like the conditions where it gets colder and the ground freezes. I remember living on the Great Lakes with large blowing fluffy snow drifts that wouldn't allow you make a snowball verses the snow/ice balls you can pack in the warmer reaches of the snow belt.