And it snowed…

{ed update – so I’ve just checked the Dunedin weather and it’s 22°C and slightly nor-wester, hmmm}

Ok without a doubt this is the heaviest snowfall I have ever been in. It’s incredible. We’ve all seen those images from american TV where the town is under several feet of snow, I can now see how this happens.

It snowed over night, but Janine’s flight got away ok, but then started again this morning while we were at Granville Island for the ritual coffee. Then with UBC being quite high up, the bus ride home was a little hairy to say the least. They are big powerful machines, but when they start going sideways, they go sideways. Still we got home and everyone is safe and warm. We’re going out for one last play in it this afternoon and get as many pics as possible, as there is rain and warmer temps due tomorrow. So 12°C with up to 80mm of rain with all of this snow will bring flooding and all sorts of mess down town.

With Janine in Toronto, the boys are just going to hunker down to some TV over dosing. I wonder if Rum in their Eggnog is illegal – most other things in this country are.

4th and Fir @ Granville Island

Outside Agro Cafe, Granville Island this morning before the big dump

Outside our apartment

Winter, and…

Spring (more or less the same trees)

Outside the apartment, kids having fun

Feeble attempt, no decoration but still big (that’s what it’s all about)

stuck

brrrrrr

Big enough for ya

So then to really make things messy, the rain has started and we are above 0°C for the first time today with 90-100mm due by tomorrow late afternoon, what a mess we are in for.

Canadian trees are whimps.

So the weather forecasters on the TV were all in a tizz over the storm that was heading our way for today Monday.

UpDate: The papers and tv weather people can’t stop talking about the storm that hit us Monday??? What storm, there were winds in town here around 70-90km, sure inland and up the coast they had sort of decent winds of 120km but still. Trees were down and 2 days later 30,000 people are still without power just south of here?

Backing the buss up a little, the weather is presented here in a very different way as to what we are used to in NZ. Indeed the average Kiwi at least has some idea what a weather map. It contains fronts, isobars, Highs and Lows and arrows denoting wind direction. We are also relatively well educated on what this all means. Take for instance Tuesday’s map for midnight NZ.

This map is relatively simple to decode. There is a font crossing over the North Island, with a trough hitting the bottom of the South Island. The isobars are more or less vertical, so there will be cold air drawn up from the south, Invercargill is not the place to be tonight, nor for that fact the Catlins or even WGTN. The weather should be quite unsettled too.

Now take a look at this baby. Same isobar map, same day, location entire Canada.

I don’t know about you (and I have a degree in this stuff), where the heck is Canada, and what is going on?

Vancouver TV News

For those interested, here’s the local TV news, coverage of the heat and other stuff.

First Global News (TV3 like)

Then there’s Vancouver TV

both are worth a look to see what town has been getting up to while we are living here, like the massive oil spill on tuesday (wed nz time).