Weather

Southern Ontario is experiencing unseasonably warm weather. The temperature today was 27C, although my van's dashboard said 31C.

This makes it feel like summer, and not early October. While many trees have changed colors or shed their leaves altogether, others still have green leaves on.

In the news, you can read about it in the Canadian Press.

An almost-intact house in the Manitoba town of 550 just west of
Winnipeg being thrown several hundred metres through the air before disintegrating and falling to the ground ... seconds later, a large van is seen whirling through the air; it was later found in a distant field

That is really powerful ...

Via CBC.

The changes in global weather have been more frequent and more marked around the world.

British Columbia had record all time high temperatures in seven locations, including 39.9C in Lillooet, BC.

See the CBC article. 

A 37-year old man was jogging in Vancouver, B.C. while having an iPod strapped to his bidy and the speakers in his ears. When an adjacent tree was struck by lightening, the lightening jumped and struck him.

The result was disastrous. Not only was the man thrown off 2.4 meters from the tree, but he suffered ruptured ear drums, dislocated jaws, and first and second degree burns on his chest, where the iPod was strapped. The burns were up his ear channel as well. His feet had burns and his sneakers were blown up as the electric shock exited his body to the ground.

On May 15, 2007, there were tornadoes in Southern Ontario.

Yesterday, June 8, 2007, Environment Canada issued torando warnings for the areas around Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and Wellington county.

Indeed, two probable tornadoes were reported. Environment Canada is investigating, specially the Mildmay area south of Walkerton.

Last week we had smog warning days in Southern Ontario with temperatures of 29C. Tonight, we are seeing the risk of frost with the temperature being just a few degrees above freezing.And all this in the span of a week, and in June too!

On May 15 afternoon, Waterloo region went through a severe thunderstorm, and perhaps a tornado. Power was cut for 1 hour 40 minutes, and cable TV and internet were off till next day. Several trees fell, some on houses causing damage, and even power poles, one at Gateview and Erb, very close to where we live.

Several tree branches were ripped apart. Some really thick. Rain was driving horizontally too to the house.

In Monkton, near Stratford, there was a confirmed Tornado that tore apart a barn, and killed several cows.

Links

After an extremely mild second half of December, and first half of January, cold weather finally arrived.The January cold snap has set in, causing outdoor hockey rinks to fill up with people exercising with their sticks.Temperatures as low as -21C have been recorded during the last week.An elderly woman of 91 years went out of the retirement home she lived in at 5 am, in -22C temperature, and was found frozen to death 200 metres by a passer by at 9 am.A

Collingwood's Blue Mountain Resort, a popular destination for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding, had a notice on its web site that they are closed, but expect to reopen by January 10th.

Moreover, they had to lay off 1,300 seasonal workers, since there is no snow on the ground, and hence winter sports cannot be performed.

Although it is January, it feels more like September in Southern Ontario.

There is not one speck of snow on the ground. Temperature is occasionally in the double digits (e.g. 10C yesterday, and 8C today), and it is raining instead of snowing. The local newspapers have pictures of kids playing soccer in the park, instead of skating on an outdoor rink, or skiing down a run. Other pictures show a man with a lawn mower cutting the grass!