Here in Colorado the temperature rises and falls dramatically in early winter before the Front Range gets any real heavy snow. I particularly like the short coat version of the Drizabone coats made in Australia.

They are under $200 and are almost totally resistant to any stormy thing I'm going to run into wearing a Kilt. The jacket falls (on mine) just barely below the knee just as a "car coat" might. They also come with snaps under the collar so I can snap in my draw string hood if I have to go out in really brutal conditions. I'm a big enthuiast for layering several light weight tops so I can regulate my comfort zone. The coat is large enough so I can layer insulation under for comfort.

I'm happy with mine