Tag Archives: ice pellets

Shut In

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It was a fitful night, filled mostly with sleep, sleep interrupted frequently by the howl of the wind, and visits to the loo. When morning light arrived, it found me snuggled under my eiderdown, gazing out the window at the tortured trees, as the wind ripped across the landscape.

It was -5C outside the window when I finally arose.

We had hydro, all night, and it is still with us this morning. The weather today may change that.

The sand truck just passed, leaving a dark stain down the middle of the road. The truck returned, to plow the accumulated ice pellets to the side of the road. Transportation routes are passable again.

It isn’t over yet though! Today promises to bring more ice pellets and freezing rain, along with strong winds.

I am shut in, as is Attila, for the weekend. Yesterday was quite pleasant, allowing ample time to attend to reorganizing the domestic space here. There were two large unpacked heavy totes in the basement, containing my text books. Attila carried them to the main floor for me. I thought I would want to get rid of them, but alas, no. Many of them were written by friends, colleagues, some of them reference my work. There is a whole world of memories in those books, good memories, so I carefully sorted through them, organized them, and placed them on the bookshelf. Two totes down in the basement, yay!

Within a few days all of this ice will be gone. Hopefully the roads will be clear by tomorrow morning, when many people need to go back to work. For my part, I am looking forward to some weather that resembles spring, so that I can sit on the back porch, and plan activities away from the house that won’t be cancelled due to weather and road conditions.

Yesterday I spent some time in the kitchen preparing Falafels. The recipe I have is low in sodium, as I only add a pinch, rather than the recommended amount, and includes grated carrots. I love it! It was created by the cook, Maya Jagger, at the day care centre at the university, when Terra was enrolled there. The woman was one of the nicest you would ever want to meet, Terra loved her. She liked Terra. Terra has a genuine appreciation for good food, so they were bound to like one another. I bought Maya’s cookbook, and the recipe for Falafels became one of my favourite meals.

Last night I shared my creation with Attila, and we enjoyed a lovely meal together.

Netflix has done a remake of Lost In Space. I liked that program as a kid, and this new rendition is very amusing, very different, and very amusing. So far there is no gratuitous violence, or extreme intrigue, just ordinary human orneriness, with the usual undetected sociopath in the mix, there is always a sociopath, in real life as in fiction.

This morning I have baked muffins while the hydro is here, and a loaf of bread is in the machine, chugging towards a loaf.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

FREEZING RAIN WARNING IN EFFECT
-4°C
Lightning
Light Freezing Rain
Date: 8:00 AM EDT Sunday 15 April 2018
Condition: Light Freezing Rain
Pressure: 102.8 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: -4.2°C
Dew point: -7.0°C
Humidity: 81%
Wind: NE 41 gust 58 km/h
Wind Chill: -13
Visibility: 16 km

Today: Periods of ice pellets or freezing drizzle changing to freezing rain near noon and ending late this afternoon then cloudy. Risk of freezing drizzle late this afternoon. Ice pellet amount 2 to 4 cm. Wind northeast 40 km/h gusting to 70. High minus 1.

Tonight Cloudy. Rain beginning late this evening. Risk of freezing drizzle this evening. Amount 15 mm. Wind northeast 40 km/h gusting to 70. Temperature rising to plus 2 by morning.

Quote

“When it is not necessary to make a decision, it is necessary not to make a decision.”
Lord Falkland (1610 – 1643)

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-

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