Born and raised in the Midwest, I’ve been slipping and sliding through icy winters for as long as I can remember. When I moved to Coastal South Georgia for college, the mild winters were like a spring getaway. Due to my experience with the cold, wet, fluffy stuff (snow, ice, sleet, slush), I am immune to the southern craze that comes with the occasional winter weather.

These are the 10 things that southerners do when there is actual winter weather.

1. Buy out the grocery stores

The second a warning is issued, everyone and their dog jump in their car and rush to the grocery store. Bread? Gone. Milk? Gone. Water? Gone. Beer? Definitely gone.

2. Forget how to drive

Little known fact, Southerners can’t drive to begin with (not well, at least). Sorry to say it, but in this part of the country, turn signals are seemingly nonexistent, there is no gradual stopping (only slamming on brakes), and right away laws are never recognized. It only gets worse the colder it gets.

3. Prepare for the apocalypse

Any flurry is a cause to put the county under a state of emergency. Us northerners may laugh, but people down here are truly scared.

4. Post about it on social media

It’s a big deal! Snow seems to be few and far between in these areas. If there is so much as a light dusting, prepare to see it all over your news feeds.

5. Board up the house

Okay, so not literally. But all of my southern friends go crazy, prepare for the apocalypse, buy out the grocery stores, then refuse to leave their homes until all of the slickness has melted. At least this minimizes the crazy drivers!

6. Bundle up to the max

28 degrees is no joke when you’re used to 40+. As soon as the temperature dips below 40 degrees, our southern belles turn into Eskimos. In the Midwest, this is when everyone may consider wearing pants instead of shorts. You do you, southerners!

7. Shut all of the businesses down

Cities in the south are not built to handle the snow and cold. Unlike those in the north with extra insulation and protected pipes, the south has done little to protect themselves from extreme weather. As funny as this seems to those who live in the north, it is truly serious. Pipes burst, things break.

8. Wonder how to handle it all

In the north, we are blessed with things like snowplows, salt for the roads, snow shovels. Unfortunately, those things simply don’t exist here. People aren’t salting their outdoor stairs, sidewalks, or roads. This is simply because salt isn’t readily available. They may be poked fun at for hiding inside, but truthfully, there is little to be done due to the lack of anti-snow devices.

9. Drink

What better way to spend time with friends in a rare snowstorm than to bundle up inside and drink yourself silly? Play some games and make the best of the crazy weather.

10. Enjoy the beauty

If they aren’t sitting out on the porch, bundled up in tens of layers, they are gazing out their windows. When you see the snow for half the year, curse it as you spend hours shoveling your driveway and scraping your car, you sometimes forget to enjoy the beauty of it all. This is where southerners have us beat. I truly enjoy watching the awe and wonder in the eyes of my southern friends, even if it is from the warmth of their homes.

I may poke fun at my southern friends shaking in the light flurries, but I understand you more the longer that I live here. You will have your chance to make fun of me this summer when I am dying in the heat you all enjoy so much. Be safe, bundle up, and enjoy the weather