FYI, you can also post in r/Pennsylvania to get a better scope of answers, because Pittsburgh is in a very different climate than Tyrone.

I can say this having grown up in the Altoona area (which is down the road from Tyrone).

However, a competent driver with good winter tires will be just as functional with a FWD vehicle as AWD.

Note I said "competent driver." I rolled FWD most of my life, but as I said above, I learned how to drive in superior shitty conditions. For newcomers from the south, the two best things are AWD and staying the fuck off of the road when the ice starts to fly.

We train to drive greater distances in shittier weather on far worse roads than most of the country. Assuming everyone has that level of comfort and experience is why we're still on the roads while overconfident rookies are in the ditch.