North Alabama is right on the edge of snow, and unfortunately that's where the black ice is. No vehicle can go on straight ice--4wd's, Jeeps, or anything. And it is ice that really breaks down the trees which cause electrical outages.
I remember living in Memphis once when it started snowing. We closed my office at noon and went to a restaurant/bar next door. I got home at midnight when the wrecks were cleared from the roads. Yep, Southerners don't know how to drive on snow or ice.
When growing up in Nashville, we used to get 2 big snows every year. No more. That's Al Gore's Global Warming showing up.