Yesterday was about 61F outside. We had some friends over and all the kids were out jumping on our trampoline in the backyard.

Today we have a nice layer of ice on everything. 1/8" so far and more coming. I think we're supposed to get snow later today too.

wagga, I was pretty horrified by that story about the cattle. I'm very sorry for your country and especially the farmers and ranchers who lost their livestock.

We lived around half an hour north of Seattle(in Everett) for a few years before moving to Oregon, and our first winter there a storm dumped 2-3ft of snow in the area, and it wasn't a big deal to me, but the locals were freaking out. I've had my fill of winter, so I've started planning this year's garden

The seed catalogs have arrived despite the piles of snow outside. Kalta, it's never too early to post over in the gardening thread.

We're about 4 inches/100mm shy of the all-time snowiest February on record (going back to 1873) and with snow in the forecast that looks like a shoo-in. If we're going to have a lot of snow we might as well get a record to go with it.

Only 4 inches? The old saying "If it rains it pours" or in our case SNOWS!
I just watched a weather for cast for central Minnesota predicting another 6 to 8 inches through next Wednesday.
I am literally running out of some places to aim the snowblower when clearing the front side walk, and back drive. Some of the driving is getting very interesting as the lower vehicles cannot see over the piled snow on the corners of some of the intersections, and have to "nose" their way through slowly, hoping no one is coming.
I have been telling folks about how spoiled we have become th last few years with little snow. I should have kept a bit quieter.
So sorry about those folks wagga. I will certainly keep them in my prayers.

Naturally we here in southern Kansas have nothing on you all in Minnesota (although Kansas City has had a LOT of snow and ice this winter). But this has been one of the wettest winters I ever remember with repeated rounds of ice, rain, and a little snow coming through.

Today we're supposed to get our largest snowfall amount of the winter. Depending on which site you check we could get anywhere from 2-5". And then sometime in the middle of the night it'll turn over to freezing rain and hit 40F tomorrow.

But the most interesting weather tidbit is that our first Kansas Thunderstorm of 2019 has been predicted for this weekend. Woohoo!

The local weather people talked about KC and other Kansas locations as part of a description of how large and strong this storm is.

With 10 inches (255mm) of new snow, we've shattered the all-time snowiest February record (note that this is normally our least-snowy month of the winter). Even before this, we'd received more snow in the last 20 days than in November, December, and January combined (admittedly those were mild, dry months).

With another big system expected this weekend (the worst of which may pass south of here), this record may stand a while.

I thought it was the weather at first messing up my internet at home, but now I think it's something with the phone line. Basically I'm incommunicado at home(on library wifi right now). Today starts the next round of winter storms, and I'm ready for summer!

We were "missed by a mile" as the saying goes this time. The heavy snows struck the southern part of our state, as well as neighboring Wisconsin with a fury. Some areas receiving 10 to 12 inches of snow.
We still received about an inch, but with the 30, to 45 Mile-an-hour gusts it drifted in tight packs on the lee side of anything that did not blow away.
Not that we are totally "out of the woods", what with March just starting mid week, but a breather in the constant snow is nice.

The Twin Cities also dodged the bullet, only receiving about 4 inches (100mm) of snow, consistent with forecasts. But the wind was still pretty severe.

Southern Minnesota got hammered, however. I grew up there and it's flat agricultural country, with little to stop the ferocious north winds blowing the snow. Facebook posts show drifts up to the roofs of houses and other buildings, and hundreds of miles of highways remained closed. (Interstate 90 is particularly vulnerable to this since it runs east-west so the wind blows snow across it). Several towns opened up the National Guard Armories to house people trapped due to closed roads, and local churches are providing shelter too. There are even stories of National Guard military vehicles getting stuck in the drifts.

Oh and more snow is coming this week.

Oh my, wagga, what a terrible thing that occurred in North Queensland. I am so very sorry to hear of all this loss. Poor, poor farmers.

We are definitely having a winter storm here, yet nothing like southern MN has, yikes! That reminds me of Montréal's Storm of the Century in 1971. My family lived there then: the city was shut down for days, with drifts piling up to the top windows of 2 story houses. The banks were at least 12'. I clearly recall trying to shovel our front sidewalk from the driveway to the front door: the banks became so high as we piled more and more snow on them that to toss even more snow, we had to carefully back out with our laden shovel-full to a somewhat clearer spot, then let the next person head in for another go. Great memories, actually, working hard on clearing this long, narrow path with my dad and brother (my sister was too young to help). And at times like this, neighbours really come together.

Anyway, back to the present: we have had a terrific windstorm, beginning yesterday noon and just easing up now, with gusts up to 110 kms/nearly 70 miles an hour. I am amazed we did not have a power outage (rather, only a few flickers), 'though many areas did. Accompanying the wind came snow with whiteout conditions in the rural areas. Sometimes I could not see across our street. And the squalls would descend so suddenly. But the drifts this morning were beautiful (and deep), as if someone had exquisitely sculpted them.

More snow is expected on Wednesday, then again this weekend. March may be coming in like a Lion.

Oh dear! More snow for you people! And the locals here are congratulating us on bringing in an early spell of nice weather. The daffodils and crocuses(croci?) and aconites are blooming, along with gorse and wild plum(or something very like it). The jackdaws have returned to Carisbrook Castle and are relining their nests; there are scads of other birds as well, especially noticeable at sunrise. I think that Aslan is on the move, at least in the Isle of Wight.

Oh my, wagga, what a terrible thing that occurred in North Queensland. I am so very sorry to hear of all this loss. Poor, poor farmers.

We are definitely having a winter storm here, yet nothing like southern MN has, yikes! That reminds me of Montréal's Storm of the Century in 1971.

Yes, it is a terrible business, indeed. Especially for the graziers' herds. It will take years to recover from something like that. Something like 500,000 head of cattle altogether, swept away by the water, with many dying of pneumonia afterwards. Unfortunately it isn't a good time of the year, with so many cows calving etc. It was like all the aid sent to farmers & graziers, because of a long-running drought before that Monsoon Trough hit, was wasted. Gone! Apparently, there was a radar or satellite blackout so the graziers (ranchers) around Julia Creek didn't have anywhere near enough time to get their herds to safety in such a big area. Due to that monsoon trough the Ross River at Townsville burst its banks so the mozzies might be bad up there as well. Talk about the 10 plagues of Egypt!

It seems that Minnesota, as well as Canada, has been having a very snowy time. But, Aileth, when you were talking about the Isle of Wight as well as daffodils & crocuses, I thought you also came from Canada.

Summer here is officially over on Thursday, but the weather is more autumn-like already. There is even a bit of an autumn chill at night. But there still isn't much rain.

It seems that Minnesota, as well as Canada, has been having a very snowy time. But, Aileth, when you were talking about the Isle of Wight as well as daffodils & crocuses, I thought you also came from Canada.

You're right, wagga, I do come from Canada, near the sunny Okanagan, where we always watch for rain with anxiety when it doesn't fall, and relief when it does. However, my brother and I are making a trip-of-a-lifetime stay in England; we're planning to be here for four months, and we'll see absolutely everything Riiiiight! Oh well, we'll see a lot, anyway. I mentioned this in the Various Vacations thread (with a blog link), but if you're like me at all, you might have missed it. My eye always seems to skip over that spot.

But as to the weather, we know to expect rain and such, and are just lapping up the sunshine while we can. There were still snow piles in Vancouver when we left. In Vancouver. Where it hardly ever snows at all, never mind enough to accumulate on the ground.

Last time I was in Vancouver, aileth, it was a toasty 40C. Whew!

February went into the books here as the 4th-snowiest month ever, with 39 inches/990mm. And winter isn't done yet; we're getting piles of snow today as March begins. If this snowy pattern continues, we could challenge the all-time season record, dating back to the 80s. (I remember the mountains of snow back then, and now we're duplicating them. )

This weekend may break cold weather records dating back into the 1870s, with high temps struggling to reach 0F/-17C.

Your storm will be here tomorrow night and we're going to actually attempt to compete with you on this. They're not sure what part of the storm is going to hit us, so they're saying 3" minimum, but upwards of 8" if we get hit with the heavy stuff.
And it's going to get cold... -1F, which is saying something here. All of my friends, and my kids, and many other people I know are ready for spring. But there's another winter storm in the forecast for late next week so it's not over yet.