Monday, January 11, 2016

Watching the Storm

We're back to winter here, with snow and -10°C, maybe enough for some skiing.  The storm wasn't as fierce as forecast, but I'd much rather have this than slush!  And it's looking nice and wintry again.

These are the branches of a Hawthron Tree; they seem to hold the snow better than most on all their tiny twigs.


But it's the pine trees that hold the most snow and quickly look like it's winter.

In this storm the snow collected on the lower branches of saplings, unlike the frost last week that collected on the tree canopies.

I don't know about you, but I really like watching the actual progress of a winter storm.  There's a pattern as the warmer air moves through bringing a thaw, the cold front follows, and then lake effect streamers start off the Great lakes.  In this radar image, the first, warmer air mass is on the right.  The green is rain, and the blue is snow, and we're right in the centre of the picture where the rain has just turned to snow.  You can see west of that the beginning of the linear streamers over Michigan.

The storm started with fog and melting as temperatures rose above freezing Saturday.

This was the low point for snow (or high point for temperature), on Sunday noon, when a lot of our snow had melted.  The rain had just changed over into snowflakes.

By this morning the yard was back to about 6" of snow, with snow squalls from those lake effect streamers, cold temperatures, and the warmer air long gone to the east.

This is what the radar looked like today, with two major streamers heading east to southeast across southern Ontario.  That's what brings the most snow.

****

Anxious to get out now, but busy with commitments too.  A fair bit of time blowing out the driveway for one thing!  Walking back to the house I noticed that the big Christmas wreath was looking really good with the fresh snow on it.  To be honest, I put this up a month ago, and have hardly ever noticed it since, but today it looked good.  So a belated Merry Christmas!  By the way at some point I was told I had put it up upside down!  But I think it looks good anyway.


Linking to:

14 comments:

  1. We lucked out today but are in the crosshairs for tomorrow. It does look pretty doesn't it.
    Be safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We've had the same system here last night and today. Its so cold and windy out there tonight and going down to -14 with a wind chill of -18 by morning. The snow will arrive tomorrow night then an Alberta Clipper is coming through on Saturday with a LOT of snow. Time to get the snowmobile ready. I hope you get out skiing soon. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, your wreath looks great with a dusting of the white stuff! Love your photos of the snow covered trees! I love me a good winter storm.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the snowy fence and wreath.

    Stay warm and safe.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful! love all that white! wish it snowed here.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's winter here in Pickering too. Lucky for me most of the storms here are meek compared to what you get in the valley.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yup same here wind is howling snow is falling and cold . Looks pretty though and I am waiting for the storm to calm so I can get out and take photos lol ! Wonderful photos . Thanks for sharing , have a good day and stay safe and cozy .

    ReplyDelete
  8. i have been hearing about your weather on the news, what a shame it has to be SO cold. but regardless, i love the snow and your images are really beautiful. we are suppose to get a tiny little bit tonight...fingers crossed it begins before dark so i can watch it!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The wreath looks gorgeous against that green wall with the snow.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The wreath picture would make a beautiful Christmas card!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You reminded me that I need to take down our Christmas decorations today. haha. I've enjoyed your snow scenes. Maybe it would be nice to experience a couple of week of a snowy winter one day.
    The View from the Top of the Ladder

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love being able to look at the photos and remember the portion of our summer trip when we traveled there. Thanks for sharing your beautiful land in this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The weather changes affect people all over the globe. In some areas people may lack enough rain, other areas may have excess sunlight leading to drought, in yet other areas the seasons may get more extreme and severe. Winter storms in this case may be as dangerous and life threatening as the summer storms. http://survival-mastery.com/basics/winter-safety-tips.html

    ReplyDelete