Weird Winter

I think it was January 12 the first time this winter I actually had to wear my boots. This is unprecedented! We have had the occasional day of snow but for the most part, it has been much warmer than usual. Two days ago, it was 9 C, however, today it is -3 and we’re getting a bit of a snowstorm. There’s about an inch of snow on the driveway by mid-afternoon, and it looks like there is more to come. Last week, we got heavy rain. Weird.

By this time in a typical winter, we would have had quite a bit of snow, starting any time after mid-November. At this time of year, we have our “January thaw” – that warm spell that gives us hope in the middle of seemingly unending -25/-30 temperatures. Not this year. It has been very different, although I am certainly not complaining about the warmer temperatures.

And it has been unusual in other parts of Canada too. Right now in the Prairies, they are getting bitterly cold weather – temperatures in the -35 to -55 range! An Arctic air mass has moved down to freeze this region. What we are told, however, is that it won’t last long before the temperatures are more reasonable again. Vancouver and Vancouver Island rarely get much snow. But apparently, they have received about as much snow as we have here. Strange.

I’m sure at present, those who live in Saskatchewan are not convinced the world is undergoing global warming. And given the change in weather all over the world, I think most informed people now understand it to be “climate change” rather than “global warming.” Some areas of the world are getting snow where they didn’t for many years – Britain comes to mind. Even at that, however, there is evidence this is just another go-round through a cycle that has happened before. Although Britain hasn’t had snow for a long time, apparently in the 1500s or so, it was quite usual to see snow.

It came to my attention shortly after we moved into this house almost 10 years ago that the typical Canadian winter can be brutal for new arrivals. Our neighbours moved right in the middle of January – and a particularly cold one at that. I asked how they survived, and she said it was very tough that first year. But they were glad, in hindsight, to have come at that time because it has not been so bitterly cold since, and they feel they can handle anything now that they’ve seen the worst.

A young Moroccan man I used to talk to told me of some of his friends who came to Canada in the summer and thought it was wonderful. One had moved to Edmonton, as he eventually did, and another to Calgary. A third moved to somewhere in British Columbia (BC). The one in Calgary got lost in a snowstorm his first winter and, not realizing the grave risk, died in that snowstorm. The one who moved to BC died in an avalanche. How sad! They came to Canada for a better life and yet somewhere along the way, no one told them the risk the cold presented. Or, if someone told them, they didn’t take it seriously. My friend still wanted to come to Canada, but he was well aware of the dangers of the cold. And he has done well.

I would like eventually to move to a warmer year-round climate. My joints don’t appreciate this cold weather any more. I know there are risks in those climates too. I would not be at all impressed with very large spiders, and scorpions or the like don’t really thrill me either! We’ll see. For now, visiting my dad and step-mom while they winter in Florida seems like a good idea. Just 6 more weeks.

Until next time, take care of one another…