I grew up in Michigan, then lived for four years in Maryland, right near Chesapeake Bay. Our first year there, they predicted 2 inches of snow and the entire area went into full-blown panic mode. Schools closed early, stores and businesses shut down, it was just short of an actual Emergency with sirens and broadcasts on every TV and radio station.
My wife and I literally could not believe it. We'd grown up with snow; it meant you allow a little extra stopping distance, just in case. That's it. We laughed our asses off at the entire county acting like it was the end of civilization.
Two days later, we figured it out. Snow there is rare; some winters they didn't even get snow, not once. So there were no plows or salt trucks or any other kind of equipment to actually deal with it. I had no trouble driving to the store, but everything was closed! That's why people stocked up on everything. Getting to the stores wasn't the problem. Everything being closed down was the problem. It was easier to just not go anywhere for a few days than to learn how to drive with snow on the ground, so that was the culture.