Tag Archives: freezing rain

Always a Day Away

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St. Patrick’s Day, March 17

This morning: -27C (which is 16.6F); it speaks for itself.

It is 11:32 a.m., and I am still wearing heavy foot gear, sweater and down vest, and a toque; and I am chilled and my hands are stiff with the cold. I wore the toque to bed last night, and I needed it. I anticipate that the noon firing today will do the trick, and that it will be comfortably warm in the living area by this afternoon. I have my fingers crossed that this is the last gasp of arctic visitations for this winter!

The sun is shining brightly. The temperature is rising rapidly, already -12C and heading up to -4C today. I can see part of the first deck board again, so the count begins again.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone. We are celebrating only because we are determined to find any reason under the sun to celebrate during the month of March. We will have green vegetables with dinner tonight, in honour of the occasion, well green peas anyway.

Weather

-27°C
Date: 6:00 AM EDT Monday 17 March 2014
Condition: Clear
Pressure: 102.3 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -27.0°C
Dewpoint: -29.8°C
Humidity: 78%
Wind: calm

Spring Equinox, March 20, 2914

Happy Spring Equinox to all! And good weather to you!

We awoke to the sound of ice pellets bombarding the bedroom window. The ice, mixed with snow, fell in great sheaths all around us. Later turning to blowing snow, we are having ourselves another winter storm. However, it is MILD out there, just below freezing, which is a mixed blessing it seems, but nevertheless a welcome turn of events.

I was to have my heart monitor applied this morning, but since it is a one hour drive away, and the roads are treacherous, I cancelled. Then I got a call asking me if I could work a few hours, a few kilometers from home, so I accepted the work. Days of miserable weather pass more quickly when I am busy. The roads were thick slush and ice when I left for work, and bare and wet when I came home from work. Things are improving!

I read that seasonable weather will not arrive until mid-April. Tomorrow, tomorrow, always a day away!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

-1°C
Date: 8:00 AM EDT Thursday 20 March 2014
Condition: Light Snow
Pressure: 100.3 kPa
Visibility: 3 km
Temperature: -1.1°C
Dewpoint: -1.8°C
Humidity: 95%
Wind: WSW 13 km/h
Wind Chill: -5

Quote

“I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.”
Umberto Eco
1932-

Scuppered Again

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Friday, December 20, 2013

When we arrived home from the little house in the city on December 3rd, I had no idea it was going take until last night, December 19th, to get out into the world again! Last night everything was a go. The roads were passable, it was not snowing, no freezing rain fell from the sky. We decided to make the trip into town for supplies, and to finish my Christmas shopping. We had the roads mostly to ourselves, but for the sanders.

We now have our potatoes and carrots, cheese and bread, and two new vacuum bottles for Attila. Attila has been drinking cold coffee for a few months now, as his old vacuum bottle had lost its seal. He was holding out for a sale; it never materialized. He bought two small vacuum bottles, only because two were a lot less expensive than one larger one. And, at last, I managed to purchase Attila’s Christmas present.

This morning it is snowing again. The weather report for areas south of us is full of freezing rain warnings. We will not be venturing forth while those warnings are in place, which will spoil any plans to visit family before Christmas. Scuppered again!

Thinking about the weather reports, it seems to me I had better get baking. If we lose our power in these ice storms, it is possible we will be unable to prepare Christmas treats! Suddenly, today is baking day!

Terra got in touch with me this morning to ask about staying at our little house in the city, if she gets stranded in town after work this weekend. It is very handy that our little house in the city is walking distance from where she works! We leave a little bit of food there as well, so she should be well sorted if she gets stranded in town.

Attila is tired this week. The snow plough where he works broke down, and it has been a real challenge to keep the work flow going smoothly with all the snow we are getting. Our trip to town last night was a real break for him. We ate out! At the only restaurant that is safe for me, McDonalds. When we got home Attila got the fire going in the masonry heater and headed for bed. I stayed up for the next few hours, in order to close the damper on the masonry heater, once the flames had died and only glowing embers remained.

I stand at the window, watching the snow fall heavily from the sky, and the blanket over the earth swelling white. I am thinking of Kate Rice, the prospector, who lived in remote areas, without a partner, and then with a prospecting partner. How disconnected, how free, she must have lived, away from the ebb and flow of the disingenuous ways of the world. Her world fell apart when her prospecting partner passed away and business men started taking an interest in her assets. “Success” doesn’t seem to make balanced people very happy.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Attila left before dawn, removing several inches of snow from his car windows before he headed down the road. Today he will come home before dark, as it is Saturday, his short day, which is shorter in the winter than in the spring, summer, and autumn.

I had a nice chat with Harriet this morning, who was making baked beans while we chatted. Technology allows that now, the ability to move about a room while speaking on the telephone, which still seems decadent to me. Harriet calls when everyone at her house is asleep, and we chat until someone there wakes up, then she is off and busy.

Terra wrote to say the roads where she lives, near our little house in the city, are horrid. A half hour drive home from work took her an extra hour to traverse. She arrived home safely though, which is the best news.

There is a Christmas party today, a one hour drive from here, that I would have liked to attend. But the roads are snow packed, the weather unpredictable and subject to sudden misbehaviour. We are staying home, plans scuppered again. Just as well, lots to do here, with toting wood and shovelling snow. And after all, I have had a big outing already. Just two days ago I went shopping for groceries in a store!

Mist and I remain content at home, content to watch the snow from the window; watching Attila.

Attila’s Solstice Celebration includes shovelling all of this snow off the deck. This is the snow that has accumulated over the last two weeks. The snow on the roof is just as deep, covers a greater surface area, and will fall onto the deck at some point. When the roof sheds Attila will grab his shovel and begin again.
DSCF4282 deck snow dec 21 solstice

Worldly Distractions

Weather

-5°C
Date: 2:07 PM EST Friday 20 December 2013
Condition: Light Snow
Pressure: 101.2 kPa
Visibility: 4 km
Temperature: -4.5°C
Dewpoint: -5.9°C
Humidity: 90%
Wind: ENE 9 km/h
Wind Chill: -8

-5°C
Date: 11:00 AM EST Saturday 21 December 2013
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 101.3 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -4.8°C
Dewpoint: -5.8°C
Humidity: 93%
Wind: calm

Quote

“Nothing ever becomes real ’til it is experienced.”
John Keats

Ice Pellet Storm

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Big ice pellet storm on the way. Thank goodness I took the car in for servicing earlier this week! Here it is April 10, and we are still struggling with weather that prevents travel, due to bad road conditions. Harumphhhhhh!

Since there is a high risk of power loss, we spent some time this morning preparing for the possible outage. Attila moved fruits and vegetables to the downstairs back room. It is unheated and slightly above freezing in that room, so the vegetables will be well kept there. We can eat salads for the duration of a power outage. Next, the cooler was filled with perishable items we might enjoy: milk, homemade baked beans, homemade bread from the freezer, our salad dressings, etc. We stored drinking water in jugs because the water pump will not operate during a power outage. We will have heat from the masonry heater. We will have light from candles and a wind up lantern. The only thing I miss during a power outage, is the flush toilet. Really, it would be nice to have an outhouse, or a compost toilet arrangement, for use during these extreme weather events.

I worked for a few hours today, which was uneventful and pleasant. I also participated in a discussion on Facebook, something I rarely involve myself with. It hasn’t been heated exactly, but it was something I felt strongly about. It certainly remained civil, considering that opinions varied widely.

The ice pellet storm has not yet arrived. It will likely begin after we turn in the for the night. If the power goes out we won’t notice till morning. Our alarm clock is battery operated, so it will work regardless. We will have to wait and see if our morning coffee has to be prepared out on the screened in porch using the propane stove.

Internet communication may be down for while, if the weather people are even remotely accurate.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT
-2 °C
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.1 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -1.7°C
Dewpoint: -8.9°C
Humidity: 58 %
Wind: NE 8 km/h
Wind Chill: -5

A wintery combination of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain on the way.

Colder air is moving into the region and will coincide with an approaching low currently over Illinois. Several centimetres of ice pellets are expected today for regions from Lake Huron towards Lake Ontario and will change to freezing rain later today or tonight. It may very well fall heavy at times. It should taper off by Friday morning with temperatures rising above freezing. Of greater concern is the risk of widespread power outages due to downed tree limbs and power lines from significant ice accumulation combined with northeast winds gusting to 60 km/h. There is a risk that this could be a major ice storm.

For regions east of Georgian Bay towards Eastern Ontario including the nation Capital region, snow mixed with ice pellets is expected to begin tonight and continue through much of Friday. The majority of the precipitation should be ice pellets with up to 10 to 15 centimetres expected. Freezing rain is also a threat for these regions, although is not expected to be as widespread as regions farther to the south.

Quote

“I felt my mother’s anger and despair. For the first time, my image of my father fell on the floor. I saw my mother’s image. I saw the child in him that demanded all love and did not know how to love in return. I saw the child incapable of an act of protectiveness, or self-denial. I saw the child hiding behind her courage, the same child now hiding behind her courage, the same child now hiding behind Maruca’s protection…”
Anais Nin
March 1934