Arctic dipping south

[Pax]

Amen, skhill, so ready for Spring!

We only got a couple of inches this go round, from 8-10 predicted; weird thing is, we have had endless snow this winter and yet people still freak out every time. No bread/milk/bottled water/or batteries left at the store today.

[shootingstar]

This afternoon, we walked for about 25 min. to a café....it was -40 degrees C with a 20 km. winter headwind.

I have ended up with a slightly frostbitten patch or a slight red gash looking rash just below my eye. I think this happened yesterday when we were walking out elsewhere for only 15 min. for a thin pizza and lolling around for 2 hrs. before walking back home.

I kept on wanting to pee every hr. This is what extreme cold does to me after I take in some hot coffee or any hot drink inside somewhere. Then I go pee..wonder why is it kinda of hot ,when I've barely did any cardio exercise except walk in this wretched cold for 25 min.????? 'Because it's rest of my body that's cold!!

Ok. I'll stop. I believe nujuliak in Saskatchewan has it colder @-43 degrees C., compared to our part in Alberta today.

[ny biker]

I really think that if you live far enough south to be in a state that seceded during the Civil War, you should not be dealing with temperatures below freezing for four straight days in March.

I have to say, though, now that I have a 5 mile drive to work, I am not scared about anything. I drove home in totally unplowed conditions 2 weeks ago, and it was fine (in my very good AWD car).

My situation is just the opposite now. I used to be 4 miles from work. With front wheel drive and all-season tires I would go in late or leave early depending on the timing of bad weather, but I was often able to get to the office for at least part of the day. Now my office is 20 miles away so at the least sign of slippery weather I stay home all day. Even if the roads are passable, there is so much traffic around here that the mere hint of snow or ice can cause commutageddon with people stranded overnight on the highways. I can work from home, but I'm really tired of working from home this winter.

[shootingstar]

Temperatures are in centrigrade, not in farenheit for frostbite dangers warnings. What is happening now is the local school boards are warning parents not to allow children to wait for school buses on their own tomorrow in this dangerous cold:

http://infogr.am/-9388430467806756?src=web

[Crankin]

NY, I hear you. My last job, my office was 26 miles away, plus, I was driving around to clients anywhere from 11 to 30 miles from my house. Highway driving could not be avoided. I did cancel due to weather once last year and once this year. But, once, last year, I was at a client's home near my office and i looked out and it was snowing lightly. By the time I was done, I endured a miserable 25 mile commute in 2-3 inches of snow and more heavily falling, with little plowing on 495, as it was just too crowded with cars. I was able to get off the highway and drive through one city and 3 towns before getting home.
When I was teaching, my last job was 13 miles, and before I moved, 6 miles away. Of course, we didn't have school when it was bad. But those drives in snow never bothered me either, just going from one small town, through another, then home. However, when I first moved to MA, I lived 40 miles from work at one point, then 20. I had a few harrowing drives home when snow had started during the day, on that 40 mile commute, in the 90's. I suspect now, that school would have been cancelled in advance.

[ny biker]

Latest forecast updates are indicating the heaviest snow from our current storm will be south of DC. Looks like Tulip and her neighbors in Richmond will have a quite a bit to shovel.

Pretty much everything in the DC metro area has already been closed for tomorrow -- Fed and local governments, schools, etc. But I read something about the women's bike summit not being canceled. That was a few hours ago, though, so that decision might have been reversed.

[Catrin]

March 3: 7 degrees this morning, sub-zero wind-chill. Tomorrow - 0 degrees they are telling us with lower wind-chills of course. 48 for Friday, possible wintry mix on Saturday (Death March day - this wouldn't be good)

Will this winter ever stop giving?

Thanks for listening to my vent. It WAS longer before I deleted half of it To be fair it doesn't feel as bad as it once did but still, it is MARCH already, shouldn't it be above freezing a bit more often?

[tulip]

Latest forecast updates are indicating the heaviest snow from our current storm will be south of DC. Looks like Tulip and her neighbors in Richmond will have a quite a bit to shovel.

Pretty much everything in the DC metro area has already been closed for tomorrow -- Fed and local governments, schools, etc. But I read something about the women's bike summit not being canceled. That was a few hours ago, though, so that decision might have been reversed.

Here we go! The ice and sleet started about 7 this morning and now it's mixed with hard snow and the ground is already covered. Yesterday it was 70F and I had my windows open while I worked in the garden...I have friends at the women's bike forum and national bike summit. Today is the women's bike forum so I doubt it will be canceled since people are already there. Not sure about the NBS, though, as it's supposed to start tomorrow and I imagine that many participants are scheduled to arrive today and that depends on the planes, trains and automobiles. I know a few people who bicycled from Philadelphia over the weekend. Or at least that was to be the plan...Hopefully this will inspire the LAB to make the conference later. Last year was not great, either, although it only snowed a little.

ETA, I just heard on the radio that it's supposed to snow all day. It's currently 33F and by 3pm will be 19F and overnight 8F. I hope the power doesn't go out.

[skhill]

We got lucky-- more sleet than freezing rain. It's still snowing, though. Seems like everything is closed or on a delay, even Transylvania U. Small, mostly residential college, and they never close (short of Indian attack c. 1790).

Think it's about time to go out and shovel. I'm very glad there's no where I have to be today! But I'm planning on walking to the gym this afternoon, and then doing some shoveling for folks who can't. The good news is it's not likely to get cold enough to freeze pipes here, and it'll warm up nicely in a couple days...

[marni]

woke up this am to ice covered trees. This is Houston! The last ice storm I was in was in Massachusetts years back and we were without power for 10 days. Fortunately this one was nothing like that but still, ice storm, Houston, really? And to think global warming is a myth. It may bebut something tells me mother nature is not happy.

[ny biker]

Temps finally rose above 32F today after 54 hours below freezing. Fortunately the sun is high enough to melt the snow on its own in some spots. I cleared the snow off my car the other day and left the layer of ice that was beneath it, and the sun melted all that away yesterday. (It's a rental while my car is being repaired, and after watching my neighbors spin their wheels as they left for work yesterday morning I decided not to risk trying to drive anywhere yesterday.)

I woke up this morning to find the water pressure down to a trickle again, due to yet another water main break in our area. It often takes more than a week to complete the repairs and get pressure back to normal.

Before I left for work today I reprogrammed the thermostat to a lower temperature for this evening. In order to ride my bike comfortably on the indoor trainer, I need to have the heat off and the room temp at 68 or lower. I've found that when I come home from work to a toasty warm room, I'm reluctant to turn the heat off and let the toastiness cool down. If I arrive to a chilly room, I hope I'll have the incentive to spin for an hour or so tonight.

p.s. Ice in Houston is nuts. If you have to put up with such hot summers, you should not also have ice storms in March.

[Helene2013]

Worst and coldest winter Canada has since in probably over 20 years. Welcome SPRING!!!! Altough we still have another 10-15cm of snow in forecast this Saturday. beurk.

This was taken from our local weather website.

Click to enlarge.

[Helene2013]

We had another 6-7 inches of snow today. I'm fed up....my yard won't see grass for a long time! But I think the dogs don't really mind as you can see.

Click to enlarge pic


My little one (Kooza) loves the birds (probably more chasing them is the right word!). He was fascinated by the one on the feeder. I was getting to clear their trails when I saw this through my patio door so I grabbed the camera and shot this one. Too cute.


So for them, winter is good, real good! I can't wait to see green now. I'm done with white.

[Blueberry]

I'm in the southern US, and we have rain/snow in our forecast again. It's pretty much unheard of here this late. It shouldn't accumulate, but I am SO tired of cold, wet weather! We keep getting 70 degree teases, and then back to cold. I think the long range is for us to go straight to very hot. Bleh. I want spring, not summer!

[shootingstar]

We just had another light dump of snow.. It's wearying. I'd rather it just be cold but no ice and snow in March onward.

Graph shows the temperatures for this winter in our area. It's in Celsius and it's very cold more often than other years:
http://www.cbc.ca/calgary/interactives/temperature/

I'm writing up a blog post on the regional differences where I've lived in Canada so far. Where I live there is lack of major local growing of leafy green veggies....because of the soils, shorter growing seasons, etc. That type of veggies comes from British Columbia. Or from the U.S. Of course i'm gonna talk about the architectural differences in housing, and other stuff. And there are differences in what local cyclists tolerate or don't.