I should mention I'm not panicking. A) still have hurricane supplies and b) will be staying home and watching on TV or sticking head outside and last, but not least... Plenty of layers and blankets available if power is out. Been here, done this, will live through it again. Lol

I came home this week from two months in England, looking forward to warm weather. Unfortunately the La Nina weather pattern has given us a much cooler and less sunny summer.  

Stay safe and warm, kat! Staying home is a tried-and-true strategy even here, where cold and snow are commonplace. This weekend will be a good example. The same system bringing cold to so much of North America will settle in deeply here, with some 72 straight hours expected where the temperature will not rise above 0F/-18C, and lows at night could be around -20F/-29C. Wind chills pushing -40F/C mean cold weather warnings.

As SirVincent mentioned on the previous page, the central US has had a lot of snow - more than we've had. (A local meteorologist mentioned that if we had the typical amount of snow on the ground, the temps coming would be even colder than predicted).

And the weather prediction is getting nuttier...

Dallas, 4 hrs north... 28F

Us... 4-6 inches of snow in some areas and a possible low of 17F.

Should be interesting to see what it ends up being. I'm just praying for light ice, electricity and time to play with my camera 

I was reading a Sky news article, which was written for North America, that a La Niña cycle has started for North America. I don't know what that means for north of the Equator, in the Pacific. Colder weather, I believe. Here is the NOAA report. 

All that's going through my head at this point is

..

Do you wanna build a snowman?

Current prediction by noon Tuesday is 1-3inches with pockets of up to 6. Above freezing not likely to return until Thursday. There is likely to be more

Edit: we got about 3-4 inches. Total powder with a layer of ice under it 

Our arctic freeze that began a few days ago continues here. Extreme cold warnings have been issued every day. (Even the water at the pool this morning was cooler than usual. ) Flurries fall most days, adding a bit of accumulation to the already very decent snow amounts this winter.

Heavier snow should be falling tomorrow, with flurries the rest of the week, as temperatures stay nicely below freezing, both in the daytime and particularly at night, although this very deep freeze ends tomorrow. I can't recall the last time we saw the grass ... it may have been the brief thaw in between Christmas and New Year's. This has been a very welcome January.

Up north, Ontario's cottage country has a strong, thick base (41" of snow) for skiing, etc, so we are all eager, as a family, to get up to the Blue Mountains in February and take in that beauty and outdoor exercise together.

We are hoping the snowy days will continue well into February, although it is not unusual for us to have a day or two that month of the year with some slight melting. But we can receive snow into early May (although that late is unusual), so we could have some good storms yet in February and March, in particular.  

Our freeze here seems like it is over for the time being at least. And with the temperatures getting a little warmer, I think all of our snow will be gone by middle next week. 

We could use a little more snow though but with how volatile the weather is here, we could get snow into March. 

We've been watching coverage of the big storm across the southeast US. Many areas far to the south, like New Orleans, have received more snow this week than we have all season, here in the far north.

The ground has barely any snow on it here, which may not bode well for flooding this spring, should we receive a lot of snow in the next few months. With cold weather settling in (the low the other morning here was -19F/-28C, and many areas just north of here were colder than -40F/C), the ground is freezing and will not be able to absorb much snowmelt this spring.

We're at the proverbial bottom of the year, average temperature-wise, but cold can easily extend another month or so. Conversely, the "January thaw" could also be just around the corner.

There is about eight inches of snow on the ground here in Michigan.  At least the temperature is slowly going up into the twenties after the 13 below windchill we had and single digit temperatures. I think at least it is more bearable to be outside now.  The extreme cold has passed. There will be a lot of water when the snow melts and perhaps some flooding, although not right where I live.

@starkat: Do you wanna build a snowman?

Not particularly at this moment, when the temperature here is a very pleasant & delightful 24 degrees Celsius at 11 AM. But I'll hold that thought this Australia Day long weekend, when a heatwave is alleged to be coming this way with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius or even worse, and we are expecting a torrid time, in other ways, anyway.  

@waggawerewolf27 I'm not looking forward to our six plus months of 35-42+C. The humidity levels make it miserable some days. So I definitely understand. 

That's why I'm grateful for the extreme cold break. It makes the summers doable except for the extreme heat.

But I believe that extreme cold this year "Down Mexico way" is really somewhat unusual for North Americans living in Texas or Louisiana, next door. 

The odd part of the unusual widespread snowiness in USA is the winter wildfires in California. I hope they are at least getting rain by now, which should at least put these fires out. There has been talk here, about Australian Rural Firefighters riding to California's rescue, hoping to help out with tips on land management, & wildfire prevention.  

Posted by: @scientific_archer

And with the temperatures getting a little warmer, I think all of our snow will be gone by middle next week. 

Did your snow end up melting, @scientific_archer?

Truly, @stargazer, the amount of snow we receive (or lack of) really affects the upcoming seaons in a variety of ways, doesn't it?

Here, we continue to receive snowfalls regularly. Today, especially, has been fabulous, with snow squalls off and on much of the day. The roads are slick and very snow-covered (some plowed; others not so much), but I did not notice any crazy drivers during my two trips into town and back, whew.

This morning's drive in to the pool was magical. It was snowing slightly when I started out just before 7 am, but quickly the squalls descended, and I turned my high beams on (hardly any cars around) just to see the myriad of big flakes whipping towards the car. So beautiful! The landscapes all around were dense with snow. This afternoon's drive was similar, with squalls popping up suddenly. I am home safely now.  

Honestly, this winter—January, in particular—has been the best (meaning, most snowy) we have had for a few years. We are loving it! Next week we head to an area of Ontario (a couple of hours NE of us) that is a high snowbelt, and has a base of about 4' of snow. It seems every two or three days, they get dumped on majorly yet again. Wonderful for our downhill and cross-country skiing, plus snow-shoeing on trails!

It looks like the temp rises just above freezing here at home this Friday, then drops cold again for Saturday, rising again briefly on Sunday and Monday, then becoming cold next week. All these days flurries are forecast, with light snow continuing most of tomorrow (Thursday). Of course, the milder days the snow will be wet and heavy.

Up where we are going for our family holiday, it will remain colder up there, with the most arctic night and day being Friday night and through Saturday. Flurries and even snow squalls will be present most days.  

Posted by: @jo

Did your snow end up melting, @scientific_archer?

@jo it did in fact end up melting, it's supposed to feel like very early spring for the next few days. A weird but welcome mid-winter I think.