lol...the cartoon says it all..I'm not sure a hurricane is any worse then the icy patches on the hi-way. We hit one last Saturday and went loopty-loo a couple times on the hi-way and then shot backwards into the ditch. Thank goodness we were not hurt and our pick up didnt get much damage to it. I was rather proud of myself not one #$#$# word came out of my mouth...before during or after...hahaha...savona

LOL, no kidding!

Savona, glad you came out of that scare okay. I did that once in Calgary - hit a patch of black ice and went 360ing down the hill. Thankfully no traffic close by when it happened. I was so scared after that my foot was shaking too hard to even press on the gas pedal.

It's so darn cold out there today, I shiver just looking out the window.

I'm still with "at least we don't get hurricanes". My sister lives in Porter's Lake, Nova Scotia. When Hurricane Juan came through they were without power for 10 days. Thank goodness it was in the fall. My parents flew out for a visit, and Dad spent most of his time cutting down damaged trees and hauling water from their pool for the toilets and washing up. During the worst part of it, they were all hiding in the basement hoping the house would stay put above them. That said, I still really hate icy roads and trying to get to work in blizzards. Right now I'm looking forward to the winter solstice, because after that the days start getting longer!

Connie

LOL Yeah, it's a tad chilly out there. But i'm with you, Connie - only 21 more days and they start getting longer!

Oh wow Savona, I sure hope you were wearing Depends!

I remember my "ditch" incident last winter, I hit a white out and ended up being stuck way on the left side of the ditch!

Wind chill -30C tonight!!!!!!!!!!

{{gwi:780873}}

Stay warm everybody!

Sharon

I suppose by now everyone has heard the forecast for the coming winter - the coldest and snowiest in YEARS! And it's coast to coast, except for the Arctic (which is above normal - not a good thing). Not a very encouraging way to start the day. I don't mind the snow (as long as it falls during the day and I can shovel out my car at night, and not have to get up at 5 am to do it before work). It's the cold....anyways, I second Sharon's 'Stay warm, everybody'.
Judith

Yeah Judith, I heard that on the news last night too, Toronto is supposed to be average and the rest of us will be a very cold winter like it was when we were kids way back.

However, Canada Enviroment have been known to be wrong, let's hope so this time ;)

Sharon

"La Nina" phenomenon is the reason for the inhospitable forecast. La Nina is a vast cold pool of water off the coast of South America that typically brings colder and snowy weather to Canada.

It's the opposite of the "El Nino" weather pattern, where the Eastern Pacific warms and brings balmy temperatures to much of the nation.

I heard that pleasant news today too. Other forecasts have shown that where i am in NWO, we'll be kind of on the edge of normal and below normal. Lots of snow will be good insulation for the gardens, so bring it on - but i am NOT looking forward to days and days of -40s. :(

LOL! Ok... right now I actually feel blessed to be in Montreal!

The cartoon is great... but I'm bracing for the winter ahead.

Montreal, it's headed your way!

Yes, Marcia, it's here! I work at a school, so I'm off because we have a snow day Yippee! Of course, there is a LOT of shoveling to do, but that's o.k., since I have all day, I can take my time, with lots of coffee breaks in between. My car is still buried, but I will do that last, tonight, when it has finally (hopefully) stopped snowing.
Judith

I watched on the news last night that there are 3 storm systems happening throughout Canada. We got lots of snow last night and are expecting more today. I don't mind the snow, I just imagine all my plants staying warm under blankets.

Looks like will be having a break next Friday of -10C.

Sharon

Judith, they never close our schools (i work in one as well). The buses don't run but staff is still expected to get there as the kids who walk will be there. I have a 30 mile drive to get to my present school - not the greatest some days!

Happy shovelling! :)

Our schools are closed very rarely, and even then someone will be there for those few town kids who arrive. I think our school's been closed twice in the last 10 years. But if our roads are too bad, we just need to write "inclement weather" on our time sheets. Of course, that means that I actually only miss school once every three or four years - I missed once last year because it was blowing so hard, I just about hit the ditch 4 times in the first mile, so I went home. We do get several days each year when the busses don't run, and that pretty much shuts down the school. They won't run if it's -40 - who wants to be stranded on a back road with 30 kids and a bus that has fuel that's gelled.

Connie

It's the same thing here, busses won't run at -40°. Other times it's because the backroads haven't been plowed even though the highways have. I only remember our school being shut down once when we had a really heavy snowfall in May and there was water flooding through the back doors. I went in anyway because i was worried about the library but there was no problem there, just one minor leak in a spot where there were no books or computers.

Buurrrr....the storm has finally passed here, but when she cleared last night it dipped to -36C without a breath of wind! But despite the cold, the sun feels glorious after all that wind, snow and cloudy skies this past week :)
We maybe got 8" more and the woodpile has shrank considerably!
But maybe I'm close enough to the arctic that the rest of the winter won't be too bad :)

The wind and snow seems to have lasted forever...bbbuuttt or is that brrrr..-36 ouch! And here I got up this morning and whined because it was -23..savona

After reading the temperatures some of you are facing, I promise I will not complain about the weather here! We may get that in January or February, but this early in the year? It's enough to make you want to hibernate....
Judith