Thinking of you, Pete, as you deal with this very dry period. May that rain arrive early next week, God willing. Glad you have received some rain, Wagga!

Good to hear you are safely home, coracle!

What a snowstorm we had overnight. 18" of the white stuff on the outside table. And it is cold—-17C / 1.4F—plus a windchill. There is to be continuing snow much of today. Everything is shut down. Periods of snow tomorrow again, then flurries over the weekend. Still remaining cold, 'though not as chilly, the next week or so, sitting around -5C / 23F daytime, with nighttime temps averaging around -10C / 14F.  

I see from radar that this massive system extends from far south-western Ontario to eastern Canada, although in the far east it is rain, not snow. (This graphic only shows Ontario. We are toward the middle of the left-hand pink section.)

EDIT: Somehow the graphic mal-functioned, hence I took it down. So, just imagine ...  

Back to original post:

It is so gorgeous out.  Hubby was up before 5:30, shoveling our fairly long driveway, and as the light grew around 7:15, the air took on that beautiful, almost mysterious, blue tinge that snow brings. 

We have had overcast, wintry skies for weeks now. 'Though I find cloudy days to be motivating and invigorating, I do miss seeing the night sky, but that will come again, in time.   

Last winter was great for snow; it turns out this winter is, too. The snowfalls started this season in mid-November, and, aside from a few days here and there, have continued beautifully for two months to freshen the landscape, blanketing everything with a pristine white. And there is no sign of this snowy winter letting up!  

Sounds very pretty, @jo!

We've received occasional snow but nothing like the quantities you mentioned.

Statistically, this is our coldest time of year, and Mother Nature definitely got the memo. After a very warm early January, the coldest air of the season is upon us. The predicted high temperature on Friday is -10F/-23C, with nighttime lows around -20F/-29C. We could have about 48 straight hours of below-zero F (-18C) temperatures. As is typical, the northern part of the state will be colder, with wind chills possibly reaching -65F/-54C.

Brrr!

Thanks @jo, we did get a bit of rain on Monday and Tuesday but a lot more is needed.  That said - in some areas last week they were having flash floods where the week before they were under threat from bushfires.

Temperatures here have returned to relatively normal summer temperatures for this area - around 30 degrees C most days with overnight temperatures being around 15C.  I notice another heatwave appears to be in the forecast for the Australia Day long weekend this coming weekend in my region.  Saturday-Tuesday of next week appear to be expected temperatures of around 40C.  Those in fire ravaged areas in particular (and probably most of Victoria) will no doubt be on high alert and will not be enthusiastic about those temperatures.  My thoughts and prayers are going out to those who are in the areas where they still haven't been able to fully contain and get on top of the fires.

Over here in NZ, the summer is not impressive. I've been home from UK for a week, and on only two days had warm weather. I've been promising myself some sunshine, Vitamin D, colour in my freckles, but I'm still wearing woollens and gloves!

Posted by: @stargazer

Statistically, this is our coldest time of year

Here too. But more on that shortly. 

@Pete, I sure hope things turn around for the areas so severely affected by the wildfires. Scary stuff. 

I cannot recall the last time we have not had snowfall on a daily basis—sometimes a good ol' winter storm; other times, steady light snow much of the day or night, which is so beautiful, but can also make surfaces extremely slippery; especially if there is a strong wind (quite often here), which causes much blowing and drifting. However, we enjoy the challenge and fun of driving in snow ... as long as everyone is careful and there are no idiots out on the roads. Plus, not much traffic helps. 

We have briefly come out of quite a deep freeze (with even more snow), and are now entering into what could be the coldest days of the year, with daytime temps tomorrow and Saturday around -15C / 5F, the windchill feeling -30C / -22F. Then, Friday night, -25C / -13F; windchill -35C / -31F. And apparently a huge snowstorm is hitting us Sunday through Monday. And all of this with gusty winds. Adventurous weather! 

I hear this massive cold system could be stretching all the way from New Mexico up through Ontario, Québec, and other parts of Canada ... over 2000 miles!

Now, this is winter! And snowy weather has been going on here since mid-November. What a good old-fashioned snow-filled, cold season, as it was during the '24-'25 winter, as well. Hurrah!  

Our roads have been snow-covered for weeks now (I love when they are like this), especially in our rural area, but even as I drove around town this morning, one can rarely see the actual asphalt. 

Even now, as I look out, the snow is falling horizontally with that stiff west wind, and everything is white-white-white! Gorgeous. It hardly ever seems to stop! Across the road is partially obscured as the snow thickens in the air. And one of my favourite sights is tall evergreen trees blanketed with snow: I am reveling in that view just outside the perimeter of our house in a few directions.

The only time I am seeing in the long-range forecast that the temperature may be rising barely above freezing is later February. Until then, it's wintry cold, often a mixture of heavier and lighter flurries. More significant snow accumulation is forecast for this Sunday into Monday.

We have had to shovel most every day for weeks now! 

Edit on Friday: 'though 'tis very cold out, it does not feel quite as frigid as it really is, probably because the air is so dry. 

*popping in here thanks to our big snowstorm*

I know many of you are affected by said snowstorm/winter storm and I hope you all are staying safe and warm. I'm rather enjoying it myself because it canceled everything I had going on tomorrow and Monday and all of a sudden I have a small bit of time!

We're currently up to 5ish inches of snow and it's 4F at the moment. The wind chill is the real kicker though. Snow is supposed to continue here through this evening and tomorrow morning. Glad I don't have to go anywhere!

Also hanging out on here for a few because of the weather.  🤩 Here in central Indiana, we only have about an inch currently, but it seems like it will pile up all day tomorrow. We already have church services cancelled tomorrow, and the school district where I work cancelled Monday, before we even left the building on Friday. We have too many rural students on roads that won't get plowed or be safe for buses. I used the oncoming storm as an excuse to go to an antique store and buy a kerosene lamp I had my eye on.

Everything has been getting canceled because of -40° temps here in MN! Happy I found this site!

Here in western Michigan we are having temperatures mostly around ten degrees or less. It’s the coldest winter we have had in years. The wind chills have reached below zero so people are not going outside very often. I feel very confined in this kind of weather.  I have been watching the juncos at bird feeder.  Some people call them “snow birds” and they seem to love the snow and cold weather.  I wish it was spring because I can get outside more often without worrying about falling on the ice.

Posted by: @fantasia

I'm rather enjoying it myself

Indeed! As our daughter says, the anticipation of a pending storm—and the storm, itself—is exciting (as long as everyone is safe!). Did your kiddos have fun in the snow?

Posted by: @anfinwen

We have too many rural students on roads that won't get plowed or be safe for buses. I used the oncoming storm as an excuse to go to an antique store and buy a kerosene lamp I had my eye on.

Here too. Busses are cancelled not infrequently in the winter months. The rural roads are just too dicey at this time of year. And nice re the kerosene lamp!  

We are glad you found NarniaWeb, too, @Pattertwig!

Posted by: @narnian78

Some people call them “snow birds” and they seem to love the snow and cold weather.

That is what people call me (and our family), as we all love the cold and snowy weather! The more snow, and the longer winter is, the better, as far as we are concerned. Yet we know we are in the minority. Although there are others who revel in the winter months, too; we are not the only ones.  

The Toronto area received more snow than we did this past Sunday. We had a lovely amount (it snowed lightly all day), but the Greater Toronto area was inundated with the white stuff. The huge city ground to a halt, and are only beginning to dig themselves out. It is very unusual for the GTA to get more snow than us here, a couple of hours west. 

Today, we have snow squalls throughout the day (I just now received a Snow Squall Warning on my phone). Driving into town for groceries this morning, I experienced a number of whiteout conditions until I reached town, along with slippery areas. There was hardly anyone on the roads here in the countryside. 

It remains very cold here, with our coldest of the week coming on Thursday, when the nighttime temp is supposed to be -25C / -13F, with a windchill making it feel like -33C / -27.4F.

Very early next week, temps rise to -5C / 23 or so, daytime; around -10C / 14F at nights. The bitter cold/frostbite warnings will be lifted at that time. There will be, at times, a mixture of sun and cloud, along with the ubiquitous flurries.  

@jo 

You probably get a lot of the same weather that we get here in Michigan.  I like winter much better before and during Christmas and New Year’s Day, but after that it can become tiresome and dreary especially if the temperature doesn’t get above fifteen or twenty above zero Fahrenheit for weeks at a time with windchills below zero.  Oh well, spring is only a couple of months away. 🙂

@pete  I notice another heatwave appears to be in the forecast for the Australia Day long weekend this coming weekend in my region.

And yes, it certainly did arrive, accompanied by bushfires at 2009 levels. Yes, it has been hot in Sydney, but nowhere as hot as the 49C we heard for Victoria. I hope you are still okay, Pete, when six years ago in 2020, during the Black Summer bushfires, the temperature in Penrith climbed to 48.9C, which I still remember with horror. 

@jo & @narnian78 I guess just reading this post and following my link to the SBS weather page would help Northern Hemisphere denizens warm up if feeling a tad frozen right now?  🥶

@waggawerewolf27, where I live it didn't quite reach 49C, but not far off it.  Yes, I'm okay, in fact it was very quiet around the region where I live yesterday, many businesses shut due to the weather conditions, in fact I also had a cancellation of one shift and the other one moved to earlier in the day so I was finished by the time it reached the maximum temperatures.  There were no new fires developing nearby yesterday thankfully and even the ones that are going throughout the state did not appear to get out of control - apart from the one in the Otway Ranges.  It certainly helped that there was not much wind about.  We still have a couple of more days before the weekend of 40 degrees.  We still desperately need rain though

It seems almost irony reading the reports of the severe snow storms over there in the US where we are experiencing a week of extreme heat here.  I think I'd rather the cold.   

@pete Having experienced both extreme heat and snow storms in my time on this planet, I would definitely rather have the snow storms. I'm relieved that the forecast for Melbourne / central southern Victoria for next week is all quite reasonable temperatures!! But I'll be there for most of February, so anything could happen in that time...  

@pete We still desperately need rain though

Yes, indeed. That would also cool the place down somewhat. We can only pray.   I heard that there might be rain this weekend coming, so I'll have to invent something to do, like hang out the washing, go on a picnic, or washing the car, so that it is sure to rain in buckets.  

@courtenay   But I'll be there for most of February, so anything could happen in that time...  

Yes, it could. But then, 1st February is only next Sunday and is the shortest month, absolutely studded with special occasions. February starts with the Celtic Imbolc in the Northern Hemisphere, also known as Candlemas. The next day is St Brigid's Day in Ireland, according to this year's calendar, coinciding with Groundhog Day. Ash Wednesday is on 18th February, also the first day of this year's Ramadan. The following day, 19th February, is the anniversary of the 1942 Bombing of Darwin, which heralded the Japanese mini subs in Sydney Harbour on May 31, & then, soon afterwards, the Japanese invasion of what was then Australian territory in now Papua New Guinea, along the Kokoda track.

After 1st March the season will change, for sure.