Hi,

Just talkin' about the Canadian weather, Is it always bbq's in Summer and snowy in winter (i know about the winds that makes the snow disappear though) Is it just a hour of rain each month? Reply back

From my experience in South Western Ontario, yep. we always have lovely summers, and snowy winters. Spring is okay, but I don't think as lovely as England's spring. Although Canadian Fall/Autumn is gorgeous as the trees tend to change into all sorts of amazing colours.

Weather is different on the coasts of course, and some areas get harsher winters or milder winters. Nova Scotia had lots of snow in the winter and sunny summers with some rain, but they also had a saying, "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes".

I was only in Vancouver for 2 months of a summer and it was gorgeous weather the whole time.

I'm not sure I'd be able to say just an hour of rain each month. We did used to get terrific thunderstorms in the summer due to the humidity and a lot of the rain, from what I remember, used to happen at night with the days being sunny and warm once again.

Okay, remind me why I'm putting up with the rainy southwest UK???

To state the obvious, Canada is a huge country. It has six time zones. By way of comparison, it takes as long to fly from Calgary to Toronto as it takes to fly from London, UK to Moscow. A land mass that size has different climatic zones.

The winds that make the snow disappear occur in a small part of Canada. I'm lucky enough to live there.

But, the other side of the coin is that on occasion I have experienced snow in Calgary as late as June and as early as August.

Also, even if we have a hot summer's day, it almost always cools off when the sun goes down. That's because we're at quite a high elevation (about 1,100 metres above sea level). Our average night time low in July is 10 deg C.

We regularly barbecue, not only in the summer, but year-round. However, it's extremely rare for us to eat an evening meal outdoors. By the time we've cooked the meat, we almost invariably feel cool enough to move indoors.

You can look up weather statistics for different parts of Canada at Weatherbase.

I am adapting to Canadian life all year round now. We actually BBQ in the winter as well.
The winter snow here is not the same as the wet slushing absorbing snow you get in england(when you get snow). You actually find it difficult to build a snowman at times as the snow is so dry and wont compact. when the snow hits it is here for some time.

If you're talking about Vancouver, it's more like rain in winter, rain in spring, 2 weeks of sunshine in summer, rain in the fall (autumn, sorry!) ... repeat year in year out ... but we still have folk who wear shorts and sandals all year long!!!

No offense intended to Calgary, but now I know why I like southern Ontario the most. you can stay outside for most evening meals during the summer and some breakfasts too if you want.

One day I will visit Calgary and find out for myself. As you say Canada is huge and so much to experience and enjoy.

by the way, Sponge bob rules!!!

sure southern ontario is great if one can stand the humidity, black flies and mosquitoes....move to paradise!!!!!.....
.....

Just because its snowing doesnt mean you cant fire the BBQ up

Me and my family (for all those who know Karate Kev) are trying to relocate the Calgary Alberta, what kind of weather is there there?

I was logged in as my Dad! Sos

[QUOTE=Judy in Calgary]To state the obvious, Canada is a huge country. It has six time zones. By way of comparison, it takes as long to fly from Calgary to Toronto as it takes to fly from London, UK to Moscow.
[QUOTE]

I looked it up - just for the heck of it: it is almost 1000 miles farther from St. John's to Vancouver than from St. John's to London. The flight from St. John's(to London) is about two hours shorter and the time difference one hour less (3.5 as opposed to 4.5) Even after many years in this country it difficult for me to grasp how huge it really is

GTR

Check out -

http://www.trailcanada.com/canada/climate.asp

There is loads of useful info, as well as good weather reports.

This is the weathercam that we use...great views,,,
http://www.3sisterswx.com

Hello pastylover,

Calgary has quite unpredictable weather.

Although it has roughly four seasons, the seasons don't always behave themselves "properly."

We can get very cold weather in winter. The coldest that I've personally experienced is -40 deg C (not counting the wind chill factor, which can add considerably to your perception of how cold it is).

On the other hand, we do get Chinook winds several times a winter. As you've already noted, they make the snow disappear. The rise in temperature can be very dramatic. I understand that the most spectacular increase ever recorded was when the temperature went from -30 deg F (-34 deg C) to 60 deg F (+16 deg C) in one hour. Usually the increase is not that amazing, but I have witnessed it going from -40 deg C to above freezing within a couple of hours.

But we can't rely on Chinooks. We have to cope with the cold weather as long as it lasts. For that reason every vehicle has a block heater in the engine. If you park your vehicle outdoors on a cold night, you need to plug the vehicle's block heater into an electrical outlet for a couple of hours before you drive the vehicle. The block heater keeps the sump fluids liquid.

Some other adaptations to cold weather include the fact that parking tickets are written up in pencil (because the ink in ballpoint pens freezes in very cold weather). The jack that you keep in the trunk (boot) of your car in case you need to change a wheel has to be a mechanical jack because the fluids in a hydraulic jack don't work in cold weather.

Spring often is an on-again / off-again proposition in Calgary. We can get some quite nice weather in March, then more snow, then some more nice weather in April, then some more snow, then some nice weather in May, followed by more snow. It's rare, but I have known it to snow as late as June. The third weekend in May is the Victoria Day long weekend. That's when most people plant annual varieties of flowers in their yards (gardens). The popular myth is that that is the time when it's safe to do so, as the frosty nights are over. However, that's a somewhat optimistic point of view. It's not uncommon for frost to occur even after the Victoria Day long weekend, and then people run outside with sheets of plastic to protect their newly planted gardens overnight.

Summer also is an iffy proposition. Sometimes we get stretches of really nice summer weather. But there are other times when summer isn't very summery at all. Also, as I mentioned in a previous post in this thread, regardless of how hot a day it's been, the weather almost always cools off at night. That has its pros and cons. The disadvantage is that we very rarely can sit outside to eat barbecued food. The advantage is that, even during a heat wave, we at least start out with a cool house in the morning.

Autumn, which Canadians call fall, is quite unpredictable too. It's quite common for us to get some snow in September, followed by a surprisingly pleasant, warm spell in October. We call that "Indian Summer."

In my experience Indian Summer very frequently ends on October 31st. There's a kind of Murphy's Law that rules Halloween. It's not always the case, but it often is the case, that the weather is cold when kids go trick or treating. Every Calgary parent knows that a kid's Halloween costume has to be big enough to fit a winter parka under it.

Are you Kevin's 12 year old kid? If so, you're a borderline trick or treater. You're close to the age when kids stop doing it, although you could get away with it for another year or so. It's the custom of going from door to door in your neighbourhood and getting candy from grown ups. I don't know what you call candy in the UK. Lollies? Sweets? Well, anyway, if you have a younger sibling who still can go trick or treating, don't despair. They will get more candy than they know what to do with, and I'm sure some of it will make its way to you.

Just about every Christmas in Calgary is a white Christmas. We had a close shave last Christmas. We woke up to a brown Christmas in the morning, and I was disappointed. However, half way through the day it started snowing. By the time we sat down to our turkey dinner it was a proper white Christmas.

Canadian families also have a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, which falls on the second Monday in October.

Most Canadians, however, don't know about Guy Fawkes Day.

Going back to Calgary's climate. The atmosphere is quite dry in Calgary. If your family brings furniture from the UK, it would not be unusual for a piece of solid wooden furniture to develop a crack in it after a year or two. However, you can help to avoid this problem if you oil your wooden furniture.

Because of our dry atmosphere, we get snow, but not as much as they do in other parts of Canada. Shovelling our driveways is a pain in the neck, but it's not as big a chore as it is elsewhere in the country.

I hope that gives you some idea of Calgary's climate. However, it's hard to know what it's really like till you've experienced it.