Oh, the weather outside is...

[Valka D'Ur]

I bet the rest of you think it's spring, right?

This is what spring looks like in Alberta (and the reason why my firm opinion is that it's not really spring until June 1, since we still get snow in May some years). This photo was taken just north of Stony Plain, which is near Edmonton. This is just over 100 miles north of me:

Here's another accident (different location) that shows why, when there's a snowstorm, you stay off the highway unless absolutely necessary. It's been snowing here for the past couple of days, and it's a good time to stay home. It's not particularly cold (about -10C, -14C with wind chill), but it's icy and when the wind blows across the highways, you get cars and trucks in the ditches.

 

[really]

It's too cloudy to see the partial solar eclipse.

 

[The_goggles_do_nothing]

This is what spring looks like in Alberta (and the reason why my firm opinion is that it's not really spring until June 1, since we still get snow in May some years). This photo was taken just north of Stony Plain, which is near Edmonton. This is just over 100 miles north of me:

There is just one major road between Edmonton and Calgary, right? That's got to be tough on the truckers who have to decided to make that run.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

The major north-south provincial highway is Highway 2. Highway 2A goes into Red Deer and a few of the smaller cities and towns. There are plenty of roads, just not that many that are built to take the constant weight and stress of these huge trucks. And Highway 2 doesn't get into the foothills until it's near Calgary, so the land on either side is still fairly flat farmland. Aside from shelter belts on some of the farms, there's not much to stop the wind from blowing where it wants to blow. And sometimes that means blowing a very large truck (or several) right into the ditch.


Alberta highways:

Spoiler large map :

The highway with the "1" on it inside a maple leaf shape is the Trans-Canada Highway. It stretches across the entire country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. At the top right you can see Fort McMurray, where we had that horrendous wildfire back in 2016. We had a very dry winter that year and fire index warnings were being issued as early as February - 2 months earlier than usual. This is one of the reasons I don't mind snow. It helps reduce the severity of fires later in the year.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Cloudy, with rain to follow this afternoon and tomorrow. I spent the last two weekends on the road and am delighted at having an excuse to hole up inside and do nothing but read, game, and sing.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Sunny and in the 70s. Spring for a while. No rain for weeks/months

 

[Zardnaar]

Autumn rain yay.

 

[Darsnan]

Nice warm afternoon, and I heard the birds chirping for the first time this year, but winter just doesn't want to give up the ghost....

 

[really]

After an unseasonably warm few weeks (highs of 20C), it's nice to be back to a more normal high of 10C.

Out and about at 6C this morning is far more comfortable for me.

 

[Sommerswerd]

I bet the rest of you think it's spring, right?

This is what spring looks like in Alberta (and the reason why my firm opinion is that it's not really spring until June 1, since we still get snow in May some years). This photo was taken just north of Stony Plain, which is near Edmonton. This is just over 100 miles north of me:

View attachment 727408

Here's another accident (different location) that shows why, when there's a snowstorm, you stay off the highway unless absolutely necessary. It's been snowing here for the past couple of days, and it's a good time to stay home. It's not particularly cold (about -10C, -14C with wind chill), but it's icy and when the wind blows across the highways, you get cars and trucks in the ditches.

View attachment 727409

We usually get a little snow here in May too, and thats southern New England, pretty close to the coast. If its still snowing here, I can only imagine what it must be like up there.

It snowed here this weekend. Nothing like whats shown in those pictures though, by Spring what we get is the occasional one off overnight or early morning flurry... enough to cover the ground, but not enough to last more than a day once temps warm beyond freezing.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

We usually get a little snow here in May too, and thats southern New England, pretty close to the coast. If its still snowing here, I can only imagine what it must be like up there.

It snowed here this weekend. Nothing like whats shown in those pictures though, by Spring what we get is the occasional one off overnight or early morning flurry... enough to cover the ground, but not enough to last more than a day once temps warm beyond freezing.

Most of the snow is gone here now, though there's still time for one last blizzard. There are little snowbanks still lurking in the shade here and there, the kind that's dirty and would have melted already if the building wasn't in the way of the sunlight. I never count spring as really here until June 1. It's dry and warm enough now that I don't need to wear any of my winter stuff outside and I've taken 3 blankets off my bed.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Here rain is coming to an end after an unusually wet winter. The dams are quite full now, though not as full as they were about ten years ago. At least there's water for the next five years.

Oh, I still remember the big drought from the late 1980s to 1995, five years without rain. Giant desalination plants were even planned, but fortunately, it finally rained copiously just in time in the autumn of 1995, just when I entered university, and finally they weren't built. I remember the forest behind my house littered with thousands of toads just awakened from a five years hybernation and my little cousins, who were born in the mid-late 1980s and were just over five years old at the time, being scared when they saw rain for the first time in 1995.

 

[Darsnan]

Continual line of rainstorms coming our way in Syracuse. Got caught in the first burst this morning while I was out on my run.

 

[Sommerswerd]

The major north-south provincial highway is Highway 2. Highway 2A goes into Red Deer and a few of the smaller cities and towns. There are plenty of roads, just not that many that are built to take the constant weight and stress of these huge trucks. And Highway 2 doesn't get into the foothills until it's near Calgary, so the land on either side is still fairly flat farmland. Aside from shelter belts on some of the farms, there's not much to stop the wind from blowing where it wants to blow. And sometimes that means blowing a very large truck (or several) right into the ditch.


Alberta highways:

Spoiler large map :

View attachment 727416

The highway with the "1" on it inside a maple leaf shape is the Trans-Canada Highway. It stretches across the entire country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. At the top right you can see Fort McMurray, where we had that horrendous wildfire back in 2016. We had a very dry winter that year and fire index warnings were being issued as early as February - 2 months earlier than usual. This is one of the reasons I don't mind snow. It helps reduce the severity of fires later in the year.

This map is a reminder to me that Alberta's hockey fanbase is strong enough to be able to support two different NHL teams . Growing up I had a cousin who was a Flames fan and because of that I learned to love the Flames, although my hockey fandom truly belonged to my local team the Whalers ... who eventually packed up and folded/moved, sadly

I'm still holding out hope that the brass bonanza returns to Hartford someday

 

[Valka D'Ur]

This map is a reminder to me that Alberta's hockey fanbase is strong enough to be able to support two different NHL teams . Growing up I had a cousin who was a Flames fan and because of that I learned to love the Flames, although my hockey fandom truly belonged to my local team the Whalers ... who eventually packed up and folded/moved, sadly

I'm still holding out hope that the brass bonanza returns to Hartford someday

I live smack in the middle, between Edmonton and Calgary, so there's always a rivalry as to which team someone supports. In my case, I'll support a Canadian team over an American one, Western over Eastern, and if it comes down to Edmonton vs. Calgary, it used to be Edmonton but now my preference is Calgary (for reasons outside the scope of this thread).

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Oh, and to get back to the weather, it's been snowing for the past couple of days.

 

[stfoskey12]

We've had a warm spring so far, but it gets cool and rainy just in time for the weekends. I don't mind cool weather, but I prefer my weekends to not be washouts.

 

[Darsnan]

I live smack in the middle, between Edmonton and Calgary, so there's always a rivalry as to which team someone supports. In my case, I'll support a Canadian team over an American one, Western over Eastern, and if it comes down to Edmonton vs. Calgary, it used to be Edmonton but now my preference is Calgary (for reasons outside the scope of this thread).

As a life long Leafs fan it comes down to two words regarding Calgary or Edmonton: Lanny McDonald.

Weather's been great the last few days, with t-shirts and shorts the apparel of choice. But again another weekend spoiled by a cold front! WTH!

 

[BenitoChavez]

Looking out my window right now I see lightning flashes every 1-2 seconds. There's a constant sound of thunder. Wind, rain, and oh yes, a tornado warning

 

[Birdjaguar]

Welcome to spring in the Midwest!