ReNe: another big snow storm

Another snow post!

Well, there was another huge snow storm over eastern Canada yesterday, and all I see whenever I look out is snow. Activities over the weekened, or lack of, have to be planned around the white stuff.

This winter has been marked by the record levels of snow. The current storm system is interesting because of its size and duration. It's expected to dump about 15-25, or 20-30cm depending on the news source, of snow on Toronto, and up to 50cm in the worse-hit areas such as Niagara. Also, while most storms last 10-12 hours, this one was expected to last up to 36 hours and came in 2 waves; the first on Friday evening and the main event on Saturday afternoon and night. It could be the biggest storm of the season if it exceeds 30cm; the biggest storm this season was the one that dumped 30cm on CNY eve.

This was taken on Saturday, early afternoon. It may be hard to tell from the picture but not only is there snow coming down, snow is also being whipped up from drifts by the gusty winds. Truly an amazing sight. At this point, the snow was very small, even a little wet, almost on the verge of melting.
Late afternoon, I got really tired to being cooped up indoors and so we went out to buy groceries. It's actually pretty fun to walk outside in the snow and while driving is hard because of poor visibility and spinning wheels, it's not a big deal at all to walk in a snowstorm. Temperatures were cold though not unbearable; -7C, -17C with windchill. This was taken along Bloor; note the condition of the streets, the fact that roads are almost indistinguishable from the pavements, and the massive snowplows.

Normally if, say, 10 cm of snow fell on both the roads and pavements, there should still be a clear distinction between the two. However, because of the strong winds, snow gets blown up and re-distributed all over. I have stepped onto the roads by mistake because the curbs are hidden under the snow, initially thinking I stepped into one huge pothole and then realizing *not*. It's tricky. Also tricky is avoiding stubbing your toes on hard-packed ice from previous storms, hidden under a fresh coat of new snow or avoiding sheets of ice, also hidden under new snow.


Once in a while we see this: dogs tied up outside a shop/supermarket/cafe, while the owner is inside. Some of the bigger dogs seem all right, especially those with thick coats, though we've once seen a poodle (you know, the kind that's shaved) shivering badly. Anyway, this guy here just seems bored.

Notice the white-out conditions. You can't see clearly beyond two blocks. It is hard and dangerous to drive (I recall the blizzard conditions on the drive back from Toronto to St Louis last Thanksgiving) but fairly easy on foot.

The storm wreaking havoc across Eastern Canada resulted in so many car crashes on Saturday that police in Ontario stopped going to crash sites - instead telling those involved in a collision to get a tow and report to a designated centre.

"Since yesterday when the storm started we've had close to 600 collisions," said Const. Dave Woodford of the Ontario Provincial Police on Saturday afternoon. "Then . . . over 200 collisions since 6 o'clock this morning."

[Canwest news service, 8 Mar 2008]

Outside one of our favorite places to get groceries. P.A.T. is a Korean supermarket; stuff is relatively cheap, fresh and the variety is good.

And despite the mammoth storm, there are always the hard-corers. Always an inspiration.

For those confused, I'm referring to the cyclist. I've seen cyclists who are even out in -18C weather, ski-goggled and balaclava-ed Made us feel like a wuss for complaining about cycling in Singapore when it rains, eh?


Strong winds whipped the snow into knee-deep snow-drifts at parts. There was a stretch of deep snow just outside our apartment.

As noted, the late morning snow was small and wet, like little ice pellets. By the time we went out in the afternoon, the snow was thin and cylindrical. Odd, that. I wonder kind of conditions exactly are required to produce all these different types of snow. Towards the evening, the flakes became big and fluffy, and you can easily see the crystalline structure.