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The Official Weather Thread

Predicting the weather has just gotten more difficult...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/surprise-canadian-winter-cold-001823002.html

"....forecasting is getting more and more difficult...

"There's a new norm: Expect the unexpected."

the country will be colder than normal because of La Nina, El Nino's lesser known counterpart.

El Nino and La Nina are two phases of a semi-regular temperature cycle in the tropical Pacific Ocean: El Nino is characterized by warmer-than-normal ocean surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific, while La Nina occurs when the ocean is cooler than normal.

These fluctuations in water temperature affect the air pressure above the ocean and have a dramatic impact on the weather around the Pacific Ocean and the world.

This winter, that should mean cold temperatures.

...periods of sunshine and rainfall have become more volatile ? erratic patterns of sun and rain have increased 25 per cent in 25 years. It's the first study to examine climate change by looking at variations in daily weather.

"Because of these shifts in sunshine and rainfall, plants will have different rates of photosynthesis," he said. "They'll take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere at a different rate."

Changing the amount of carbon dioxide could lead to more greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, the study says.

 
Winter weather forecast for the entire country....

Residents of Western Canada should hunker down for a colder than normal winter while those on the East Coast can look forward to a milder season, according to predictions for the country from meteorologists at AccuWeather.

But when it comes to snow, the residents of Ontario and Quebec should ready their shovels for a little more of the white stuff than normal, although they can take solace in the fact that temperatures won't be as frigid.

Those in the Atlantic provinces can expect a tamer season but residents in the southern Maritimes should brace for a mix of rain and snow for the second half of the winter.

northern and central Ontario can expect above normal snowfall while southwestern parts of the province are predicted to have milder temperatures which could lead to more rain.

Ottawa, Toronto, London, Ont., Sudbury, Ont., and NorthBay, Ont., will likely see a stormier, snowier winter, but it won't be that frigid, said Boston.

The Prairies are expected to get cold, dry and windy conditions for much of the winter with below-normal precipitation and snow days predicted for much of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

He warned however that residents of Ontario and Quebec should get their winter tires on and brace for episodes of icy roads and snowy driving conditions over the next few months.

For more, go to:  http://ca.news.yahoo.com/colder-temps-west-more-snow-ontario-quebec-winter-140051121.html
 
I know here it Bosotn it has incredibly mild. Personally I don't mind the cold. doesnt feel like winter or Christmas round here.. Actullay seemed muggy two days ago
 
It has been really mild so far in Winnipeg, except for the last week the wind has been horrible. Back home in Gillam they are on their second blizzard warning in less then a week and this one is for today and tomorrow, haha suckers I am down south for another 2 weeks still :-D
 
Madferret said:
-19 out... - 26 with the wind. I got frost-bite by just typing the weather.

Going out to cut up a downed tree here soon, though it's only -8, -13 with the wind.

When does a chainsaw need anti freeze, aargh!
 
Tigger said:
Madferret said:
-19 out... - 26 with the wind. I got frost-bite by just typing the weather.

Going out to cut up a downed tree here soon, though it's only -8, -13 with the wind.

When does a chainsaw need anti freeze, aargh!

Wake me up in March
 
Madferret said:
Tigger said:
Madferret said:
-19 out... - 26 with the wind. I got frost-bite by just typing the weather.

Going out to cut up a downed tree here soon, though it's only -8, -13 with the wind.

When does a chainsaw need anti freeze, aargh!

Wake me up in March

Got most of it done, big old ash tree just sat over with the mild weather and snow sitting on the top, I can use the firewood but I think I wrecked my chain on the last cut, maybe the drive too.  :-X

Give me a ticket for an aeroplane...
 
NASA will study Ontario snow, via an airborne science lab....

NASA will launch an airborne science lab aboard a DC-8 plane above Canadian snowstorms next week to measure snowfall from space.

"Snowflakes contain varying amounts of air and water, and they flutter, wobble and drift as they leave the clouds."

Scientists can measure overall water content by determining how "wet" a snowflake is. That information is crucial for cities where a wet, heavy snow can shut them down. Melted snow is also a key source of fresh water in many areas.

The field campaign is designed to improve satellite estimates of falling snow and test ground validation capabilities in advance of the launch of the GPM Core satellite in 2014.

The plane...carrying radar and a radiometer that will simulate the measurements to be taken from space by GPM. At an altitude of 10 kilometres, the DC-8 will make multiple passes over an extensive ground network of snow gauges and sensors at Environment Canada's Centre for Atmospheric Research Experiments north of Toronto.

At the same that the DC-8 is flying above the clouds, two other aircraft, one from the University of North Dakota and another from Canada, will fly through the clouds, measuring the microphysical properties of the raindrops and snowflakes inside.

Advanced ground radar will scan the entire air column from the clouds to the Earth's surface.

"We will be looking at the precipitation and the physics of precipitation, such as snowflake types, sizes, shapes, numbers and water content," Petersen said. "These properties affect both how we interpret and improve our measurements."

The Ontario region is ideal for the campaign because it is prone to both lake effect snow squalls and widespread snowstorms. The DC-8 may also fly over blizzards along the northeastern United State if these occur during the time period.

For the complete article, go to:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/01/12/sci-nasa-snow-canada.html
 
Looks like it's going to be an "early spring" according to the prognostications of Ontario's "Wiarton Willie" and Halifax's "Shubenacadie Sam", two groundhogs who didn't see their shadows on Groundhog Day. 

Not so with their other famous brethren, Pennsylvania's "Punxsutawney Phil" who saw his shadow and that translates to "six more weeks of winter".

Now, before we get carried away by these 'meteorologists', let's consider a few facts, let's face it, the groundhog's record is a little better than a 33% accuracy, still...

The forecasts come in the middle of an unusually mild winter that has taken even seasoned meteorologists by surprise.

CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe commented that her research suggests groundhogs are only about 33 per cent accurate in their predictions, but weather forecasters enjoy Feb. 2 as a holiday from work, as their jobs are "turned over to the rodents for a day."

Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips
Unseasonably warm temperatures from coast to coast have made winter a non-event for most Canadians, weather experts say, adding the unusual conditions have stymied their prognostications for months.

"The one thing uniting all Canadians right now is the question of 'where's winter?' We're almost sending a search party looking for it," said Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips.


"Even in the Arctic we're seeing examples of a winter that has not behaved normally the way it should be."

Phillips said temperatures in Ontario have been consistently 3.5 degrees above normal for this time of year, while balmy breezes and recent rainfalls have washed away all traces of the season's sparse snowfalls.

It's been even warmer on the Prairies, with temperatures averaging 5.5 to seven degrees warmer than usual, he added.

Meteorologists say typical signs of winter have been wiped out by an "arctic oscillation," a phenomenon that's seen the constantly moving jet stream remain relatively stationary and keep winter conditions at bay.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/02/02/groundhog-day.html
 
Interesting study shows that carbon dioxide and not changing climatic trends responsible for the demise of the last ice age.  Skeptics who believe that global warming is just a natural part of climatic change occurrences, now cannot ignore the fact that CO2 (chemical symbol for carbon dioxide) may have been more so the culprit in triggering weather circumstances that led to the melting of the last ice age, some 10,000-20,000 years ago.

What does this findings implications have for Earth and the state of our climate?

Read it here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/04/05/environment-climate-co2-ice-age-end.html


Also posted here:  http://tmlfans.ca/community/index.php?topic=866.msg66248#msg66248



 
Rising water temperatures (sea level temperatures), due to global warming and other factors, are causing the ice shelves in Antarctica to melt by seven metres (approx. over 20 ft.).

An alarming fact that shows an unending cycle of several factors at work here, (varying winds, hole in the ozone layer, and man-made greenhouse gases, among them), that cause sea level temperatures to rise, affecting the ice shelves, in cyclical fashion.

Read more about this here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/04/26/antarctica-ice-melting.html
 

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