Here in the south,** all the weatherman has to do is mention there's a tiny possibility of snow, and everyone panics. Seriously, they've cancelled school just because snow was possible, and several times in my memory the kids ended up getting a day off for no reason, because the snow never showed up. At least you had something on the ground.

(** and in our defense, 'cause we do get sneered at a lot, we don't have snow plows, etc., sitting around waiting for the once-in-a-decade snowstorm, so real snow is more of an issue than it is in makes-economic-sense-to-be-prepared New England...)