One of the biggest bummers about the melting snow is how dirty everything becomes. All of the nice white snow is now dirty with road grime. Yuck! This melting snow happens every spring, and sometimes in the middle of winter like we have already had this year.
Despite the ugliness of the dirty snow, that melting this time of year is really good for your landscape. When all of the moisture that is around is frozen in the form of ice or snow, then there is no water available for our plants. And our plants do need a drink in the winter. They do not need nearly the same amount of water in the winter as when they are actively growing, but some water to help them through the winter is good. Now I would not water your plants at all in the winter, that will cause problems to your spigots. And any water that is poured outside in the winter will just turn to ice, making it not available to the plant anyways.
But nature does make sure that it provides and the January thaw is very beneficial even though it may be unsightly to look at for us. Our plants will be happier with the mid-winter drink.