A weather question.
 

Hi all, yes another question from me!!
I have read much about the winters in canada and I'd love to know how well you all adjust to it, or how many people hate it to the point of considering returning to the UK.
In particular we're thinking of NS but would be happy to hear of any area.

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we had 19 degrees yesterday in NS what winter:lol: we cant wait for the snow

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I know these last few days have been really warm in NS or where I live although had a bit of mist yesterday. DH put the snow fence up the other day which wasn't as bad as he expected due to the ground being a bit soft.

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sorry, at the risk of looking really stupid, what's one of these?:blink::D

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It's a fence, typically made of sticks wired together or plastic mesh, that you put up for the winter to catch or divert snow. The idea being to keep the drifts out of the driveway. Maybe I should be putting ours up.

In answer to the original question I hate it. Since the clocks went back I don't see daylight on weekdays. Every evening two morons bang their inconsquential rice burners together blocking the highway. Soon every second day will be disrupted because I or someone I know fell on the ice and everything will be covered in salt; no one has clean clothing in winter in Canada, avoid black trousers. Escape is difficult because the airport becomes even less organized when faced with drizzle or worse, several times I've been on planes that got stuck in snowbanks. All in all, it's horrible.

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thanks dbd:thumbup:something to add to the list of household essentials;)

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Depends on the site of your house, you need to go through one winter so as to see where the snow piles up. In our case there are open fields to windward which is bad but a steep drop to leeward so, if it's very windy, the snow goes off the hill. If it's less windy this happens:

http://upperappalachia.blogspot.com/...g-to-barn.html

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I think the first few winters are a novelty and then after that, unless your into winter sports of course, they're just something you want to end as quickly as possible.

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Ok thanks:thumbup:

don't envy you that does look a bit of a chore:eek::D

Perhaps purchasing a snowblower is the way forward for the first winter to clear the drive and to suss out where the snow tends to end up:thumbup:

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[QUOTE=Elaine B.;6955569 I think the first few winters are a novelty and then after that, unless your into winter sports of course, they're just something you want to end as quickly as possible.[/QUOTE]

can see it could become a bit of a pain, after a while!

I have already told OH that clearing the drive will be down to him to sort out:huh::rofl:

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It all depends on the house. In the suburbs houses often have the garage on the front so as to reduce the amount of driveway; good for snow removal even if godawfully ugly. A shovel is sufficient for such a house. Farms typically have the barn to windward but, if there's any length of driveway, a tractor and/or a blower attachment is needed. That's in Ontario though, NS gets more snow.

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Most of my time in Canada I lived in apartments so luckily there wasn't shoveling to do. I think the biggest pain was getting kids into snow suits and trying to push a stroller through the snow. But on the up side at least the sun still shines in Canada in the winter and the place doesn't come to a stand still at the first flake of snow.

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I've tried to adopt a "do as the Nova Scotian's do" attitude but so far failed miserably. Throughout winter I'm used to seeing the natives driving around in beat-up rear-wheel drive cars with 3 bald tyres and get by without complaint, many of them wearing open-necked shirts and shorts (when it's -5 out). They all speed-slide by me on the inside lane of the highway, where the snow is still deep, obviously in a hurry to get to the outside BBQ party to drink cold beer. I've tried to acclimatise by dressing inadequately, I've considered getting by with inadequate transport but it's just not for me...

The locals seem to have a supreme hardiness that makes all others look like "whining cry-babies". I wonder if it's all that rum they drink?

Seriously though, I've been here a few years now and am pretty used it all, I don't really worry about the conditions much these days, just get on with it. But that doesn't stop winter feeling long and April is always disappointing.

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My uncle lives in NS (emigrated about 40 years ago), and they used to complain about the snow. He complained that they got snow on snow on snow, and he would clear his drive and clear his drive and clear his drive until eventually there would be snow banks higher than his head on both sides for the whole winter.

I have heard that winters in NS have become less severe in later years, but I didn't find his description conducive to living there.

Eventually they would head to Florida for the winter (when he retired). Now my aunt has died and he lives in a condo, so I presume the snow doesn't affect him quite as much anyway.

Oh, nearly forgot to say how it is with us: well we live in NW Calgary. We carefully bought a house with no sidewalk to worry about, and we only have a short length of drive and a garage out front as dbd described. We seldom get deep snow (in the last three years anyway) and when we do get snow it normally does not last long due to the Chinooks. We have clear blue skies most days, and enjoy the winter sports too, so winter doesn't bother us overly. My lads cannot WAIT for it to snow properly (in the mountains anyway!) :D

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We're not far south of Morwenna in Okotoks, Alberta. We too employed the no sidewalk = less shovelling plan and are glad we did. For others coming across this way, we're recording our experience of the weather in the weather blog in the sig line below.

Eamonn & Janet.

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Before I was able to decamp from N S to Arizona for the winter I used my trusty garden tractor with a 48" blower. It worked a treat. My driveway there is long and wide. It's brick so very easy to keep clean. My house sitter looks forward to being able to play with it so it's sitting there in the garage all ready to go. In true N S tradition she'll be wearing a tee shirt and shorts !! It could be the rum, maybe.

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Our drive is pretty much open with lots of fields around it so neighbour advised us to get snow fence 50ft plastic security cost $30 and took hubby about an hour to put it up. Neighbour also has a tractor and will plough drive if it gets bad, keeping him and his wife stocked up on home made fruit loaf and cakes :D

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:rofl:

Not a bad return for ploughing your drive:thumbup: Thanks for posting the pic:)

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we get down to -40/50 with the windchill here in sask usually lots of snow but its not the wet horrible stuff,still need a snowblower though and this to get about:p

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It's the length that's maybe the worst thing.

The cold...you'll get used to. Dress warmly and usually you'll think it's a doddle unless you are out in it for a while. You probably won't be.

The snow? Shovels are well designed and you can often simply push the stuff out of the way. If it's deep you can sort of lift off the top layer and then push.

We've had three winters and on all but one occasion we have coped with shovels, me and some help from the kids. We paid $46 to have the driveway cleared (by tractor/snowblower) after we had three huge snowfalls (each bigger than anything before) one after the other in about a week. The build up was too much for us. The snowbanks were shoulder deep and there was really nowhere left for us to move the snow and you can only lift so much up onto such high snowbanks.

The street plows annoyingly leave a ridge across the fromt of the drive. Leave it there too long and it's harder to shift as it's more ice than snow. Apparently some plows are designed to avoid doing that.

Surpisingly, icy roads and paths seem less of a problem than in the UK. But there are exceptions.

Road clearance is excellent (aside from that bloody ridge) and I ride my bicycle throught winter.

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Thanks for your replies but one more thing. My hubby is a carpenter and he would like to know what effect the weather has on working outdoors. Does everyone just get on with, Im assuming they cant take 4 months off???

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A house up the road from us was built over the winter months The wooden parts were going up when it was 20 below.

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We are advised that in alberta that builders are still owrking during the winter months, sue to the warm winds etc

Got to a high of 17 today, no jackets and kids outside loving the sun :thumbsup:
I have been advised that sometimes it can get real cold, but doesnt last long ;)

We are around 2/3 hrs outside calgary;)

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When you say Canadian winter you are thinking 10 feet of snow, snowed in for weeks at a time that kind of thing, well so we thought.

But to be honest in the area that we live (GTA), really didn’t live up to these expectations, yes we had to shovel snow every time it snowed, great exercise and fun playing snow balls with the kids, great way of saying hi to your neighbours depending on what type of street you live on, In fact can’t wait for it again. Would we leave because of the snow.. Hell NO

I know it’s sad, but snow I just love it. So do the kids and hubby, in fact let it snow let it snow…..LOL:rofl:

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YEAH.....im with you on the snow :eek:
When it snowed last week, we played snowball fights all the way to school and then on the way home...haha:thumbsup:

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My OH is a carpenter too and it seems that some of the construction firms that he approached for a job turn to snow ploughing in the winter!

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The attached garage is useful. I get can halfway to the street before going outside. Despite that, a shovel doesn't really suffice in these parts.

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Nor around here. First proper snow of the year overnight, I suppose I'll be tractoring this evening.

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Are you expecting that much? We're only looking at a cm or so, mixed with rain. The forecast for about a week hence isn't pretty, though.

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There was a half inch or so on the ground this morning and it's been falling on and off since so, yes, I think there will be enough to need moving.

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Must be heavier up your way then as it's barely registering on the ground down here in Guelph?

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That's certainly true. I'm in Guelph right now and am basking in the relative warmth.

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Yes, well ....... you might not want to be doin' that when it's below -20 with a windchill to boot! :blink::lol:

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I detect a hint of pessimism there!

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Did I mention frozen pipes, the fragility of streetcars in the winter, the impossibility having a clean or dry floor with dogs and cats coming and going?

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Heated concrete floors are the best thing we ever chose - mop and dried within a couple of minutes.

Frozen pipes to all our water troughs are potentially my biggest headache.

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dbd33's saying for today..."If life is such a bowl of cherries, why am I living in the pits." Quote courtesy of Erma Bombeck.:sneaky:;):)

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I hope I have that sorted for this year but we'll see. I can't be messing about with frozen pipes, I have to allow time on the way to work to keep stopping and pushing people back on to the road.

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And then there's the start of winter when you forget that the wipers are frozen to the screen and the motor goes phut!

Hope you're well, bypassed or not.

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Not. :( Bypassed that is.
Otherwise much better thank you.:)