Wacky winter a signal of years to come (Canada)

[mgc1961]

From the balmy Arctic, to the open water of the St. Lawrence and snowless western fields, this winter has been the warmest and driest in Canadian record books.

Environment Canada scientists report that winter 2009/10 was 4 C above normal, making it the warmest since nationwide records were first kept in 1948. It was also the driest winter on the 63-year record, with precipitation 22 per cent below normal nationally, and down 60 per cent in parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

"It's beyond shocking," David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada, told Canwest News Tuesday. Records have been shattered from "coast to coast to coast."

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Wacky+winter+signal+years+come+Climatologist/2663423/story.html#ixzz0iCpYmCYn

[kedrys]

1. Half past March, no snow on the ground, and it's raining

Not normal, last time I checked. :scared:

[applegrove]

2. Yup. We hardly had any snow in Jan and feb. All our cold winter weather went

to the USA. Don't know how our lakes are going to refill if there is hardly any snow.

[NickB79]

3. Twin Cities, MN, 50F and sunny today and almost all the snow is melted

It feels like April already, and the forecast is predicting another week of this. The previous 2 weeks has been rainy and in the 40's. Some of my perennials are starting to sprout!

At this rate, I'll have the greenhouse up and running in 2 weeks!

[Odin2005]

4. We still have a good amount of snow on the ground here in Fargo.

It's been stubbornly stuck in the 30s for a while. Which is a good thing, though, because the risk of another flood is high.

[glinda]

6. That is unusual since the cold weather is moving east. Flooding warnings are scattered all over MN.

[glinda]

5. Weatherman said in the 60's actually. Broke a record.

[Canuckistanian]

7. Toronto had NO SNOW in November

That's never happened before.

And here in Ottawa, we've had ONE snowstorm in all of Feb. And it's raining now.

I haven't used my snowblower for three weeks.

[yowzayowzayowza]

8. Canal skating 9 days below average.

http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16297-16299-10080&lang=1

Brookfield HS alum here. Two years in Ottawa and one on Toronto were the last I spent with gravity challenged precipitation.

:hi:

[Canuckistanian]

11. I'm a Toronto boy

Born and raised in Etobicoke. (that's pronounced "Toe-be-co")

I couldn't live without seasons. You get to appreciate BOTH winter and summer - although for different reasons, of course.

[yowzayowzayowza]

12. Appreciation requires blood flow.

Went to Grade 11 at Glenforest from Mississauga. Loved Canada, but the dinosaurs got it right: migrate.

[starroute]

9. It's weird right now even here in Pennsylvania

The map I saw said we're one of the few states that had a normal winter. But as the snow melted over the last several days, there was already green grass growing under it. I've *never* seen that before.

[dmr]

10. Northern Michigan had a very mild winter, & spring thinks it's already here

I've been expecting another storm, either snow or ice, and if doesn't happen in the next week or so, I guess you could say the winter ended in February. I see a little greenry, and tiny buds on a few trees.

Most of the snow is gone - well, after the April showers we had last week, it's all gone except for the mountains made by the plows. Last year those snow mountains were still melting in mid-May (last year was very bad).

[The Croquist]

13. If you are are going to describe weather as "wacky"

It would be good to define "wacky". Weather is always "wacky". There are enough places in the world where temperatures are taken and precipitation is measured that you can find a record anything if you want.