I've been watching the coverage of the amazing winter storm south of here.  In a normal winter, I live in a really snowy place. But so far this season, we've had a paltry 8.1 inches/205mm of snow, and the ground is bare - unlike some of those places hit by the storm.

Our temperatures, on the other hand, are pretty average for the middle of winter. Right now it is 12F/-11C with nighttime lows just below 0F/-18C. It could easily be -25F/-32C without the wind chill, so we're watching for the other shoe to drop. 😉  

Posted by: @fantasia

Yesterday and today we are receiving our first major snowstorm and blizzard we've had in a long, long time.

Is the snow on the ground still around, fantasia? How is the rest of your state now? Your kids must be having a blast playing in the snow! Or is it still too cold to be outside for any length of time?

Interesting, @stargazer, that you have not had much snow this winter, when our side of Lake Michigan (and more specifically, Lake Huron) has had a fairly good amount. I don't know how many inches have fallen, but for the past two weeks, with the exception of a brief warm-up spell between Christmas and New Year's Day, the landscape has been white. And since New Year's Eve, snow has fallen every day—some days flurries (at times heavy); other days heavy snow squalls.

As I type now, the snow has begun falling gently again, and this is to ramp up later this morning and until midnight, or so. Our next good chance of full-on snow is maybe Saturday, and what appears more definite, on Monday.  

It is quite cold out this week, with temperatures ranging from -8C / 17.6F daytime to -15C / 5F nighttime, with windchills throughout the days and nights being a fair bit colder ... days the -mid-teens C; nights the -mid 20s C.

This will start rebounding somewhat on Friday, while still nicely below freezing so the snow stays (and more comes). These much colder days, it is tricky walking with the ice and the strong winds (no sidewalks), so I have been swimming more. However, come Friday, I will be also be walking again, when it is safe to do so on the picturesque country roads.  

This winter is so different than last year's, which was pitiful in terms of good snowfalls. This year is what an Ontario winter should be. It is looking good for our family skiing holiday (downhill, cross-country, and snowshoeing) at the lovely Blue Mountains, a few hours NE of us in the rural Collingwood area by the wildly beautiful Georgian Bay.  

Posted by: @jo

Is the snow on the ground still around, fantasia?

It is! The extreme cold (for here at least) has stuck around so the vast majority of snow and ice are still here. That will probably change in the next couple days when we get above freezing temps. But I'm enjoying our silvery trees and icicles for now.

Posted by: @jo

Your kids must be having a blast playing in the snow!

Unfortunately we have a nasty cough and congestion going through the kids right now so while a couple of them got outside for a bit, the other two have not. Bad timing! But it has been extremely cold too (8F the other afternoon when they went out), which makes it unpleasant to be out for very long. 

Glad you enjoyed the white winter beauty for awhile, at least, fantasia and family. And nice that two of the kiddos had fun outside. But   for the sickies. Yeah, at that temperature it's challenging to stay outside for a lengthy time.

Having said that, I was outside for my first early morning walk in a week+, as finally the stronger winds have calmed down, so this morning was -20C / -4F including the windchill, instead of much colder. Air temperature sat at -15C / 5F. There is still snow all around, and while the main country roads were dry, a good chunk of the Old Silo path was beautifully covered with snow that crunched under my feet as I walked through.

Also, for the first time in awhile, the sky, at least for the first half hour of my walk, was clear, sparkling with stars, so my eyes were turned upward a lot. A huge cloud mass was moving down from the north, so soon Mars in the NW and Gemini were covered. As dawn gradually lightened, the eastern sky was glorious in its blue-tinged winter beauty, especially when that system from the north encroached, swallowing up the stars. Quite the sight!

It looks like no time soon will our snow be gone, as the days are to remain below freezing in the near future, with nights, of course, being even colder. Later tomorrow we are looking at periods of snow, with high chances of flurries—sometimes strong—well into next week.

The weather news that I watch missed big time on the winter snowstorm that was SUPPOSED to go south of us. Well, it didn't. And it is SNOWING outside, quite a lot. 

I was pretty excited because my kids were able to actually get out and play in the snow on a nearly perfect snowy day. It was 31F, almost no wind, with big fat wet flakes falling from the sky. Plus the previous snow hadn't melted so they were out for a while building small snow castles and somewhere there's a snowman though I didn't get out to see it. 🙂

That is one aspect of cold weather, including snow, that I agree is quite unpleasant, when there seems to be plenty of videos on You Tube of people slipping and sliding in the snow. This becomes a real traffic hazard, when cars get harder to control, in snowy weather. 

We watch Dashcam Australia to see the sorts of mishaps that drivers can get into even without snow. With snow, I get the impression the drivers might really have some excuse for their folly. 

But all the same, I'm more flabbergasted by the sheer horror of what is happening with those fires in Los Angeles, where there seems to have been a drought which led into the inferno of Pacific Palisades. I do hope that these fires come under control, soon, for everyone's sake. 

We ended up getting 6-7" of snow yesterday and overnight last night. My family all trucked out late last night (*ahem* after bedtime hours) so we could play in it together. Kid#3 rolled a massive ball of snow almost as big as she was. She couldn't push it anymore and had to have help. All of the kids made a lovely, nice-sized snowman with their dad, and lots of little snow babies to go with it.

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

That is one aspect of cold weather, including snow, that I agree is quite unpleasant, when there seems to be plenty of videos on You Tube of people slipping and sliding in the snow. This becomes a real traffic hazard, when cars get harder to control, in snowy weather. 

Absolutely true! But thankfully with my area of Kansas being flat, I don't worry about sliding down a hill and being unable to climb back up. 

I love-love-love this, @fantasia. What a snowy treat for your family!

Speaking of snow, it is starting to come down here around 4 this afternoon and snowing, probably heavily, for 16 hours. Temperatures below freezing for the foreseeable future will keep this on the ground for awhile yet, hurrah!

So glad this winter is really winter!

But, yes, wagga, I ditto the great concern for the terrible LA area fires.   I cannot even fathom the devastation.

EDIT on Saturday, Jan. 11: As forecast, snow fell overnight to freshen up the existing snow, and cover all vegetation—tall and short, large and small—with a white wonderland blanket. Now, for the coming week, flurries—at times heavy—as the temps stay nicely below freezing.  

This is one wonderful January. Cold temps, yes, but I feel so alive in this type of weather! Today, yet again (this is becoming a pattern), snow squalls develop sometime in the afternoon, ease up a bit toward supper, then descend in the evening and overnight.

In fact, as I was leaving a place at which I volunteer, I said to one of the tenants as the sky started to lazily drift flakes down, "I probably should get home before it becomes too heavy" (I had just received a snow squall warning from Environment Canada), and within two minutes, the flurries had changed from light to very heavy. It was so beautiful everywhere! Thick flakes and loads of them.

I arrived home safely through town, then over the country roads, having driven out of the squall, then back in it again. What fun!

Your winter sounds so pretty, @jo. We've received a few inches of snow in the past week but it will likely disappear during the upcoming melt later this week.

Local meteorologists like to note that in the winter, when central Alaska is warm, it is cold here, and vice versa. For example, yesterday's high in Fairbanks (just south of Arctic Circle at 65N) was 42F/6C, while here (latitude 45N) it was 7F/-14C (both locations are inland, far from the mitigating effects of an ocean).

It's because at times the jet stream goes far north, bringing warm ocean air to Alaska, then dives south, bringing Arctic air to the central US. But that's about to change; Friday's high here could approach 40F/4C, but only to dive again early next week as more Arctic air brings the coldest air of the season so far. Monday's high may stay below 0F/-18C.

But still hardly any snow...

@stargazer: But still hardly any snow...

That is a pity, but as you have observed, about Alaska & other parts of USA, there are regional and even worldwide reasons for why weather patterns happen. It is nice to see North America being nice and chilly anyway.  

It seems that the normal yearly Monsoon in the north of Australia won't start for a week or so, the latest it has been in the year, since 2020. Even the sorts of storms we have been getting have been too ephemeral to have been much use, let alone causing any damage. Even cyclone activity has been subdued.

The Monsoon goes in a loop between Pakistan in the northern Summer to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory in their yearly Big Wet. The Monsoon gets the cyclones going, and it is also lifegiving, even though Pakistan has had a rough time some years with flooding. And then, there is the El Niño and La Niña phenomena, which affects Eastern Australia and Peru, on the other side of the Pacific. And there is the Indian Ocean Diode, affecting East Africa and Western Australia. Getting back to the Monsoon, it might be serious business if it fails. 

Snow...

Snow...

Ice.... (Please God NO!!!)

60% chance of up to an INCH of snow. 

For those that don't understand the sheer panic that's now setting in for Southeast Texas... This happens MAYBE once every 4-15 years. Usually after we get hit by a hurricane. 

NO one knows how to drive in this stuff. Our houses and electrical systems are not built for this. It wasn't that long ago that Texas came within a short time of its entire power grid shutting down and most of Houston did not have power for several days.

Monday thru Wednesday is going to be a massive challenge. Busted pipes will be a thing.

That's crazy to hear starkat! 

We've had more snow here in Missouri lately than in the past few years combined. Even though it's been warmer here the past two days, not looking forward to the cold they talked about this weekend..

Stay safe, kat!

Here, we continue to receive snowfall most days. This has been for nearly three weeks now!  And it is not melting anytime soon, as apparently a 'polar vortex' straight from the Arctic is descending upon Ontario on Sunday, with frigid temperatures. While tonight is the warmest we have had in a few weeks (right around freezing), next week will be some of the coldest weather we have had in a few years.

Later tonight when snow starts, it could be mixed with a bit of rain for a couple of hours (between 4 and 6 am), until the temperature starts dropping, then ... all snow much of the day tomorrow! When I come out of the pool early tomorrow morning and get in the car, methinks I will have a fair bit to sweep off.  

Again I say we are so glad this January, 2025 has truly been a good ol' Ontario winter—snow and cold!  

Just a couple of weeks ago, we had a huge amount of snow and ice (by British standards), at least here in the North. I absolutely love snow — comes of having grown up in a country where we barely have it, and so I'd never seen it before I moved to England — but it's not so lovable when, despite days of snow warnings, the local councils for some reason don't bother to salt the roads before the first day of snow. It was REALLY horrible driving for a few days there, with the roads covered in snow and ice — just after the first night's worth of it, I had to drive home from a night shift (about 10 miles), going really slowly and with no sudden moves, and it was quite surreal. I wasn't really scared, and fortunately there weren't many other cars around and everyone else on the road was behaving sensibly too, but I'm glad I don't have to do that very often.

The snow and ice stayed on the ground for over a week, and it was days before the roads were cleared and salted at last. Of course in parts of the world where snow happens every winter, everyone's always prepared, but in most parts of the UK it's a bit hit and miss — some years we don't have snow at all, some years we have just a little, and once every few years we have a LOT. Now temperatures have risen above freezing again and it's all gone and we even get sunshine some of the time, and there hasn't been much rain. (We had far too much of that in the couple of weeks before the snow came, and there was serious flooding in some places.)

As of the start of February I'll be in Australia for three weeks to see my family, so there'll be completely different weather there! Hopefully not too hot. I don't think we've had a bad bushfire season so far, which is a relief (fortunately none of my family and friends are in fire-prone areas). My thoughts are with everyone affected by the horrible wildfires in California too.