Yes, snow on the leaves can be a terrible thing. We had a snow like that in 2004 or so. I remember seeing a pick-up truck with a large branch driven like a spear through the windshield. Thank goodness no one was in the truck.

At that time, the newspaper commented that the strongest trees are oaks and crabapples. We have a mature crabapple, and all it lost were a few twigs. If you want an ornamental tree I recommend a crabapple. Oaks are beautiful of course, but very large and take a long time to grow.

We do have to have our crabapple sprayed, however. It's worth it to us.