Although everybody thinks we were getting loads of snow in Switzerland, it's only true for the mountainous parts. In the "low lands" like Zurich, where I live, winters are dry, grey or rainy most of the time. Heavy snow mostly comes in february or even early march, when wet air from the west is blown over the lingering cold air that has crept in from the east.
March 2006 was exeptional as within 40 hours about half a meter of snow came down, most of it in the night.
Tinu