The new receivers actually handle bad weather better now, so it takes a hefty storm to knock the signal out, and that's what passed through yesterday. I haven't had problems with snow in years.
The receivers have nothing to do with anything. The problem occurs when the signal can't get from the satellite in space to your satellite dish. The receiver has no part in the process.
They actually do; I used to have both new boxes and old boxes hooked up at the same time, and when bad weather came in, the newer boxes would hold up better than the old ones. They apparently handle poorer signals better.