"Winter's here, so stock up on beer early and often"
Posted on 11/30/2007 1:55:35 PM PST by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
TORONTO - After years of warmer-than-normal winters that spurred constant talk of global warming, winter this year is expected to be the coldest in almost 15 years and should remind everyone of what real Canadian cold feels like, Environment Canada said Friday.
With the exception of only small pockets of northern Canada and southwestern Ontario, this December through February is forecast to be one of the harshest winters in recent memory across the country, said senior climatologist David Phillips.
"It is somewhat remarkable that we're seeing the same situation from coast to coast to almost coast - from Vancouver Island to Bonavista, Nfld., we're showing the country as being colder than normal," Phillips said.
"The last time Canada had a significantly cold winter was back in 1994, more than a decade ago, and this may very well rival that one in terms of coldness."
1994 started with a bang of winter weather and Canadians across the country shivered through temperatures as cold as -42C - and that was before factoring in the wind chill.
Environment Canada's forecast for precipitation suggests much of the country is due for normal amounts of snow, although some cities could get more than usual, including Calgary, Regina and Toronto, which infamously called in the army in January 1999 to deal with a heavy snowfall.
The precipitation forecasts are less reliable, but Phillips said a colder winter would likely result in a lot of white Christmases across the country - defined as two centimetres of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. on Christmas Day.
Even if the forecasts don't hold true, Phillips said the weather will almost certainly be worse than the last couple years for much of the country.
Last year, a number of traditionally cold and snow-covered cities like Quebec City, Ottawa and Timmins, Ont., had a green Christmas for the first time in decades.
And places like Moncton, all of Prince Edward Island and Toronto had only two-thirds of their normal snowfall.
If there is a bright side to the gloomy forecast that most Canadians will probably curse, it's that snow and cold in the winter is good for the economy, Phillips said.
When Canadians see snow outside their windows they'll likely get into the Christmas spirit and start shopping, he said. And others will see the snow and make immediate plans to head south.
"I always think it's good for the economy when weather is behaving like it should, when winters are cold and summers are hot," Phillips said.
"With the Canadian dollar the way it is and with this colder than normal weather, it very well may be that the busiest people in the country are travel agents."
Phillips said the forecast for cold weather is being triggered in part by La Nina, a period of lower than normal temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
Notice how they mention La Nina as a probable cause -- but, when we have a warm winter, it's because of "global warming" -- not El Niño.
Well, this should be good for the Ice Road. “Ice Road Truckers” is one of my favorite History Channel series.
Ping
Your list, for.
I’m glad I put a block heater in my car this summer...
They should invite the pompous windbag Algore up for a week. I’d like to see 300 pounds moving down the ice...
Yeah baby! Colder temperature = greater weight per axle! Let’s rock!
What year was the major ice storm up there that took down all the high line towers runnning into one of the big cities?
Saw a show on History or National Geographic about it. After the first couple of days up there things were starting to look a little grim.
Must be caused by global warming.
I lived in the far north for decades & I had a block heater, oil pan heater, electric battery blanket and interior warmer. When I moved to Victoria, people would ask me about the plugs sticking out from the grill of my SUV — they thought it was an electric vehicle.
Impossible!!! The globe is warming. This news agency is wacked!!! lol.
I wonder if that means the northern US will be colder or warmer than usual? Could be warmer down here, if this forecast means that the jet stream will keep the artic air mass up north over Canada.
AlGore says no!
Well, it’s in the forties and raining here in SoCal, and we should have below freezing temps over the weekend.
Opps, I forgot to mention the trickle charger mounted next to the battery. (A partially discharged battery will freeze in no time, at 50 below — even with a blanket.)
"Winter's here, so stock up on beer early and often"
That!, takes some cojones!
That cold wave is bad news for Canada.
First, Canada is threatened by old beer refrigerators:
Study: Canadian Beer Drinkers Threaten Planet
Fox News ^ | November 29, 2007
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1932415/posts
Now there’ll be concern about making sure the beer doesn’t freeze!
Of course, nat gas gets pummeled on the news.....right?
I think. ;-)
you should see the canadian licensed cars down here in socal!
January 1998. Mostly Ottawa and Montreal.
Power was out for up to 3 weeks depending on how rural your property was.
I was without power for 6 days.
That is why we needed a beer fridge.
Let’s see if the Canadian Winter Weather forecasters are any better than American Hurricane forecasters at what they do..........Ya’ll might have a heat wave........
“I was without power for 6 days.”
Eight days at home for us; four days at the office. We were lucky at home as we have a gas hot water heater so at least we had that. Towards the end it was getting a bit grim. I remember the sound of the trees coming down, sounded like field pieces going off and for the first couple of days we had regular green flashes of light as transformers exploded.
We know that 3 day forecasts are suspect — but 100 year forecasts are solid (if done by Al Gore and the UN). Seasonal forecasts should be less accurate than 100 year ones, and more accurate than 3 day forecasts.
< /end deranged Goreian babble >
As long as you're running a cord out there.......Consider adding an electric heating blanket too. They can be purchased on ebay for not much money, and install easily.
The difference of a warm battery is amazing.
Here’s my prediction for Canadian Winter:
It’s gonna be very cold.
Here’s my prediction for Florida Winter:
It’s gonna be warmer than Canada’s...............
I read today that Environment Canada has a 46% correct forecast rate. That's less than a guess.
A heat wave would be nice as long as we don't get any freezing rain. I LIKE electricity.
New Song:
I’m dreaming of a white Easter,
Just like the ones I used to know......
At the time, we kept our wood pile under a 100 foot pine. One of us would run over and grab some wood, and the other would keep an eye on the tree for falling branches. LOL.
“That is why we needed a beer fridge.”
I think you’ve found a way to play with the minds (?) of the enviro-extremists.
Tell them that “part of the year, it’s NOT a beer fridge...
it’s an ESSENTIAL beer DEFROSTER!”.
Also popular in the colder areas of Canada ... car ports, or unattached garages. Car owners didn't want their vehicles to thaw out ... rather keep the underside frozen up to prevent rust. A good block heater, electric battery blanket guaranteed a reasonably quick start up in the AM. An aside, I remember going to school when the temperature was minus 40F ... where I live now a snowflake or two drift down and school openings are delayed or school is canceled ... unbelievable.
I’m here in SoCal too....want to go out and dance in the rain. I couldn’t believe my ears this morning at 3am when it started...RAIN!!!
April 1997. Power lines down all over N. Dakota and Minnesota, too. Winds 70 MPH, temps -20F, for almost four whole days. The storm was blizzard Hannah—the eighth blizzard of the winter, each one of which set a record for severity on the dates it occurred. The Grand Forks flood and fire occurred a month later when the record snow melted quickly in early May.
Us too. On the second day, a tree fell on our phone line, and Bell said it would be weeks before they could get to us.
Luckily, I saw a Bell truck on our street the next day.
I bribed them with hot chocolate, and they had the line fixed in under 15 mins.
Towards the end it was getting a bit grim.
Tell me. We lost power Monday morning, and then it came back on Wed. afternoon. We all had showers, and started to relax, when it went off again until Saturday.
It’s just starting to break up here but we got a good long soak and it’s great. Hope it’s the harbinger of much more to come, knock wood.
Exackery!
Global warming strikes again...
FWIW, we actually had very vivid COLORS in the leaves down here in Central Alabama this year, and that is usually an indicator of a cold winter for us. SO, if it is cold in Canada and Cold in the south, chances are it will be cold in between.
Same here. I love Ice Road Truckers.
Mud slides next
Interesting. I realized the same thing about North Texas. Normally we get green and brown leaves. This year I saw red, yellow, gold, light brown, black .... reminded me of DC in the fall.
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