shriver9

Do you still hear of news / stories of people, who perhaps ignored the Mounties warning, got stuck in a blizzard and were found frozen to death in their cars the next day?

Cheers.

SimonG

Have to agree with Ian. With the last winter being our first it was surprising how comfortable you felt outside even when it was really cold. Coming from the North East of England where the wind can really blow off the North Sea it was really nice not to feel the damp in your bones, and still to be able to ski, skate etc.

ukjo

You want to know cold, damp, wet and windy weather?? Come to Nova Scotia!!!!!! I got off the plane back in January to minus 35 degrees. 6 weeks later we get the worst snowfall for 60 years and it won't bloody melt for another 2 months!! And as for the dampness....I've never known anywhere that it takes 3 days just to dry a pair of kids shorts indoors!! Everywhere we step in barefoot in the house feels damp and cold. It's now the middle of August and the rain is lashing down the front of the house as I speak. Atleast it makes me feel as though I am at home so the homesickness isn't as bad!!!lol

Oh and we had a week of glorious sunshine back in June that made me look as though I had just spent a month in Barbados. Why on earth am I moaning?????lol

iaink

You just love an argument dont you. This is the BRITISH expats forum. Anyone coming from britain would not consider an Ontario winter anything but low humidity.

oceanMDX

Actually, I was agreeing with willmore. If I argued, I had some company.

Sorry Iaink, I thought willmore was comparing southern Ontario winters with those of Winnipeg. Some Brits might be interested in the difference between the winter climate of those two parts of Canada.

thornhill

according to CHMC the inside of a home is a Micro-climate and is therefore relevent.

oceanMDX

The problem that occurs on the Canadian prairies in the winter, is when you turn up the humidifier, the addition moisture often condenses on the windows and forms ice when it is particularly cold. I've seen it as thick as 2 inches on windows. When that occurs, there's little you can do to increase the humidity in the home. Whereas in southern Ontario (where I grew up), it generally doesn't get cold enough for that to occur. Ergo, efforts to humidify the indoor air will be successful.

daisymoll

Couldn't agree more, winter seems to last forever in NS so be warned to all those going out there!!!

willmore

I WAS and STILL AM comparing Manitoba/Ontario winters. Once you have lived in both places you will know the difference between "dry" cold and "damp" cold. Even the snow is different - the snow in Winnipeg (for the most part) is soft and flaky, the snow in Ontario is usually so wet you can hardly shovel it without having a heart attack with all those ice chunks!!!!

We get dry skin and chapped lips in the winter......and we live in Victoria on Vancouver Island where it is a "virtual rain forest".....so your argument about dry skin doesn't hold up!!!!!!!!

oceanMDX

Yes, I agree. The dry skin comes from low humidity inside the home, not outside.

iaink

So why is the air in my home so dry in the winter if it is not because it is coming in from outside, where it is too cold to hold much moisture? I dont see how you can separate the conditions inside and outside, the first will affect the second, just as it will get humid inside in the summer. All you can do is try to work around it iwth humidifiers, AC, whatever.

I am not arguing that Ontario is dryer than Manitoba here, all I am saying is that the average brit will find it dry in Ontario compared to the UK winter. Cant argue with physics, cold air will carry less moisture, and its colder in manitoba than...well almost anywhere

I can only imagine how uncomfortable I would be in Manitoba.

Iain

willmore

Ah, you must be a engineer - you're thinking too logically.

How do you heat your house? I can tell you that my parents heated with "oil" for many many years - finally got 3 different recommendations from the internet and furnace/air experts who told them that heating with "gas" would make a difference - less dry skin, sinus problems, etc. They claim that (even with the expense) it was worthwhile to change, although my mom finds the house doesn't get as warm with the gas as with oil - go....figure......

You are correct with the notion of how damp/cold it is in the UK. I spent 2 months in England/Ireland/Scotland/Wales in March/April. I have never been so cold - I finally had to buy a thermo sweater to wear under my gortex jacket on top of 2 other warm sweaters!!!!!

Funny, though, I don't think you would be as cold in Manitoba. As kids we spent a great deal of time outside with sports, building caves, walking to school, etc. as I said before, I never felt the cold in the same way as I did in Ontario.

In the end, it's whatever you're use to, I guess!!!!!

Iain[/QUOTE]

iaink

We have oil heat suplimented by the occasional wood fire. Gas isnt an option where I am, otherwise we would go that way for economic reasons alone, although as you pointed out oil will get hotter quicker. Just last week we finally replaced the leaking dragon in the basement and had a new oil fired furnace and water heater put in. $$$$

I really dont see how the heat source affects anything (sorry, being logical again), as the actual hot air that circulates is separated from the fuel by the heat exchanger. None of the combustion air should make it into the house, or else you risk CO poisoning. Electric heat was just as bad when we were in an apartment, but even more expensive. We are glad to be rid of our electric water heater.

Ive a feeling that as kids none of us feel the cold as much as we do as adults, my daughter certainly doesnt seem to care as much as her mum does about her going out in the cold.

Its certainly true that you get used to it, I dont really think about the winter weather as bad anymore, must be going native!

Iain

oceanMDX

I understand your point, now I'll explain mine in more detail comparing Winnipeg with a southern Ontario city like Belleville.

While it is true that the absolute amount of moisture (absolute humidity) that air can hold is proportional to the temperature of the air, other factors influence the relative humidity of the air. During the winter in southern Ontario, you get more overcast days, and the temperature is often only a few degrees below freezing. Snow only a few degrees below freezing tends to be slushy (heavy) and can add moisture to the air more readily than colder (light) snow. The greater number of overcast days (in southern Ontario) also contributes to an average higher relative humidity even when the temperature is the same (during the winter) when compared to sunnier Winnipeg.

You're near Belleville, which is ranked #41 in Canada for sunniest winters (289 hours). Whilst Winnipeg is ranked #2 in that category (358 hours).

For the "driest winter air", Belleville is ranked #56 in Canada (.37 kPa - lowest average hourly vapor pressure), while Winnipeg is ranked #8 (.20 kPa - lowest average hourly vapor pressure). In general, when you are outside in the winter, it often feels somewhat damper and colder in Belleville than in Winnipeg even at the same wind speed and temperature. Moist air will transfer heat away from the skin more quickly than dry air at the same temperature.

Your furnace (among other things) allows air from outside to enter your home. The drier winter air in Winnipeg will require (relative to Belleville) much more moisture to be added to attain the same relative humidity inside the home. Certainly, during the winter, you will find the air inside your home in Belleville to be dry if you don't humidify it. In Winnipeg, even if you humidify the air, the added moisture will often form ice on the inside of the windows because the glass is so cold, and the inside air will remain rather dry.

In turn, Belleville winter air would seem dry relative to what you experienced in the UK.

iaink

You are of course correct as always, but the original statement I was arguing with was "In Ontario - (although some may argue) it's a very "damp" cold"

OK compared to Manitoba, the driest coldest place around, that may be true, but to anyone coming from the UK it seems like a strange statement, as it is by no stretch of the imagination VERY damp. I guess its all a case of "Relative Humidity". Duck / Grin...sorry, couldnt help myself, its a techy joke.

Iain