I have a question for those of you who run studs in the winter in areas that don't necessarily get a lot of snow but still get snow and ice on a fair number of days. How do you decide when to put the studded tires on or do you just leave them on throughout the snow season? I already have some Nokian Mount and Ground tires for my commuter mounted on a spare set of wheels so changing over is easy. My concern is that I go to work one day on my slicks with no snow in the forecast, and it snows. I'd hate to break down and ask for a ride home. Conversely, I'd hate to run those heavy, expensive tires all winter and wear them down on bare pavement.

My current thinking is to just play it safe and any time I hear any mention of snow/ice, put the studded tires on. If it does snow when not in the forecast, I'll just suck it up and get a ride home, or possibly take the main roads home. Anyone care to post their strategy?