On Tuesday, the skies over Alabama spit a few flakes of snow that melted before they hit the ground. With more snow – with a few inches of accumulation – in the forecast for Friday, Jan. 10, the memes about Southern snow panic and “milk sandwiches” were flying around the internet. Schools and businesses announced closures. People emptied the grocery store shelves.

Donalta Hall was curious…and amused. “People were freaking out and saying to stock up and don’t go anywhere. It was just a couple of flurries coming down and everyone’s panicking.”

Hall moved to Huntsville, Ala., from Toronto six months ago with her husband, Daniel, to establish Hall Realty Team, which helps people buy their dream homes or invest in property. The Halls “fell in love with Huntsville” when they passed through while taking a road trip through the U.S. last year. “Everyone is so friendly here,” she said. “People would wave and my husband would say ‘Do you know them?’ But they were just being friendly. Everyone’s so friendly.”

They also loved the mild climate here but this week’s snow panic made her curious. She decided to take her questions to the masses. She posted on Tuesday on the Facebook page What’s Happening in Huntsville to ask for input: “Would love to hear how locals usually prepare and what I should expect. Definitely feels surreal seeing everyone so excited about flurries when that’s just a regular Tuesday back in Toronto!”

For the record, the tone of her post was respectfully curious with no hint of making fun of how we deal with snow. “Back home we’re all set up with snowplows, road salt, and winter tires, but I’m guessing things work pretty differently in Alabama! … Any tips for a snow-experienced Canadian adjusting to how Huntsville does winter?”

As of Thursday morning, more than 350 people had responded. Read them here.

In an interview with AL.com Thursday morning, Hall said she appreciated the explanations and advice. She was happy to have the answer to one of the most important topics: Milk sandwiches.

“I saw the memes and I thought, ‘Oh, a local delicacy. I can’t wait to try it,’” Hall said. “I thought maybe it was something like dipping cookies in milk and I thought ‘I need to understand this.’ I couldn’t fathom it.”

She had a laugh when locals explained milk sandwiches aren’t real – it was a joke stemming from the fact that people stock up on bread and milk whenever snow is forecast.

On a more serious note, Hall said she learned why Southerners close businesses and schools and stay inside when it snows. People explained that cities aren’t well stocked with snowplows because snow happens infrequently here and doesn’t justify the expense. Because plows can’t get to all areas, many streets and highways may be closed – and that’s a problem with insurers.

“I learned that if you crash while driving on a closed road or if somebody hits you on a closed road, some insurance won’t cover it,” Hall said.

Commenters also explained black ice, that thin frozen sheet that often forms under snow here.

“It’s not the fact that it snows,” Hall said she learned. “It’s the freeze overnight that forms a sheet of ice. Black ice is the real issue because you can’t see it.”

The most important thing commenters did was to welcome Hall to Alabama. She and her husband have already made so many friends, she said, and she really appreciates the friendly advice.

“The best advice I got was stocking up on the wine…I forgot about the wine,” she said with a laugh.