Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Toronto, yes. Either side, not so much. We're not that far from Toronto and this is a 4x4 truck (admittedly a Chevy) failing to get up the driveway.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

But that's 'country' though. It looks it anyway.

It's just that I look at Kingston (I think) through Toronto and onto London (I think) and even around the corner of the lake to Hamilton and I see annual snowfall between half and two-thirds of what we get.

I always thought much of Canada (habitable parts) was more or less the same when it came to snow, with differences not particularly meaningful. Last winter put me right on that. :nod:

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Tried to find a pretty snowfall map of Canada, and despite plenty of US examples, could not find one. Nevertheless, the stats in this table seem descriptive enough.

Average Yearly Snowfall in Canadian Cities - Current Results

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Toronto is definitely in a low-snow microclimate. I live close enough in that a wee electric blower would probably be fine for my needs.

But as I'm a ripped snow slinging buccaneer I'll continue with me spade for now.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

I found a map that could be played with to show snow depth etc., over some of Canada. You can find it here.

:)

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Yep, that's the site I discovered the truth.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

That is soooo wrong.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

That shows depth of snow on the ground not amount that has fallen to date in the season.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

I think some of those are low. Ottawa shows up as 223 cm here and I have seen 235 cm listed as average. In 2007-2008 we had something like 435 cm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa#Climate

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

If you look at the drop down on the far left top, you can change it to whatever you want - that includes snowfall for up to 3 days either side of the date you input. You are correct that it doesn't show the amount fallen to date over the complete season though, so apologies.

Whilst this isn't a map, you can get information for the amount of snowfall over the season for major Cities in Canada (you may need to tweak it using the dropdowns for the City, time period and type of info you want). I found it quite accurate. Snowfall over the Last Year for Charlottetown http://toronto.weatherstats.ca/charts/snow-1year.html

:)

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Pretty much what most US does even in places where it does nor snow.

Most of BC the regions I go to dont have them at all, makes driving at night a bit stressful sometimes. White lane markings + rain + poorly lit highway = hard to see.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

I had a friend who had a heart attack shoveling snow. Her landlord felt bad considering he was being a prick and knew she had an existinf heart issue. Luckily wasnt fatal.

Shoveling snow is one the hardest things I have done. No way I would do it again atleast without a machine.

From 1981 to 2010 Enviro Canada says we avg 87cm yr. Seems a bit high but I venture 20 yrs from now the avg will be a lot lower. Snow isnt too common anymore around here.

The peak overlooking town still has no fresh snow pack, usually has a nice white covering by this time of the year.

Excuse the abbreviations and any errors in typing. Using a phone to post is a pain.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

From your time in Ontario?

The early snowfalls are not so bad. Shovels are so well designed here that pushing often is enough.

It's the wet heavy stuff or deep drifts that are more problematic. And, of course, the ridges left at the end of the drive from the city plow. But in the first 6 winters here there were only three occasions when shovels weren't enough and one of those was only because access to the garage was needed when my mother in law moved.

A combination of not being as fit as I was and definitely bigger snowfalls means calling a guy with a plow quite often now.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Morally or practically?

When I bought a chainsaw everyone insisted I needed a gasoline one; I went ahead and bought a cheapo electric one and it was fine for the task and everything since. I appreciate a battery one would probably be useless though.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Practically. An electric "snow brush" is OK for clearing an inch or two off the deck but that's it.

I didn't know that you live in a condo.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Edmonton. We rented a house there and had to clear snow off the city sidewalk out front.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

And when the banks of previously shovelled snow get so high that it's physically nigh on impossible to throw the new stuff up over them. Or when you can walk/sledge straight off the roof & down the piles of shovelled snow...

I doubt this happens too often in Toronto, however ;).

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

:(
And imagine if that was coupled with a requirement to do the sidewalk as well. :eek:

There was a video on youtube last winter of people jumping out of bedroom windows into the snow.

Mind you, this was a tad more extreme

Yes, that's why a move to somewhere between Kingston and London (or around the corner to Hamilton) from Moncton is appealing. :nod:

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

:nod::nod::nod:

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

I understand that Moncton has lots of snow and Toronto does not but I think you want to be a bit careful with this idea.

The Toronto that has balmy weather is Toronto proper, within the DVP, lake, 427, Bloor Street. In this area one might own a snow shovel but most years one could clear the snow by peeing on it.

Suburban Toronto, say out to the end of the TTC, gets some snow, one would want a shovel. If one were a BMW or Lexus type of person one would have a walk behind blower (and blow only the driveway, not the sidewalk, as is their habit).

Exurban Toronto, say out to the end of the GO train, sometimes gets a couple of feet in a fall. Here a walk behind blower isn't silly and winter tyres are worthy of consideration.

LondonOnt, Hamilton, places west, get lake effect snow. They're not Buffalo but they are places where one would wait for the plough before driving and a subscription to a truck and blade service would be worth thinking about.

If I wanted to save my aching back, I wouldn't look to move west of Toronto.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Here ya go:

Yardworks 20-in 13A Electric Snowthrower | Canadian Tire

Principal downside of a plug-in chainsaw is limited range when terrifying the ankle biters.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

I'm not sure what "lake effect" snow is, but looking at nothing more than annual snowfall everywhere Kingston to London (and around to Hanilton) gets between half and two thirds what we get.

That's a massive difference.

Toronto would likely be out of the question for us but lots of other places would be affordable.

Moncton gets 282cm.
Hamilton 118
Kingston 157
Kitchener 159
London 194
St Catharines and Peterborough both on 137

What am I not considering?

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water, warming the lower layer of air which picks up water vapour from the lake, rises up through the colder air above, freezes and is deposited on the leeward (downwind) shores.

London, ON gets more rain and more snow because of moisture picked up from Lake Huron which is then dumped on London.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Thanks. However Moncton gets more annual rainfall than London and 282cm snow as against 194.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Yes, because of moisture picked up from the Atlantic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Moncton#Winter

"Major snowfalls can result from nor'easter ocean storms moving up the east coast of North America, following the jet stream from the southeastern United States. Large amounts of precipitation can result from the counterclockwise rotation of these storms picking up moisture from the Atlantic Ocean and dumping it on southeastern New Brunswick as the storms pass by to the south and east of the region. This can be amplified locally by "sea effect" snow squall activity due to northeasterly winds passing over the nearby Gulf of St. Lawrence on the trailing edge of the storm."

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Your description of Lake Effect Snow is 100% accurate. However with specific reference to London ON there is another unfortunate consequence of its location with respect to the Great Lakes.

I think most people are familiar with Sea Breezes, which arise because of differing thermal capacities in the ocean and the land so that the temperature difference between the sea surface and the coastal land surface oscillates in sign during the nights compared to the days.

The Great Lakes are large enough to give rise to Lake Breezes for the same reasons.

Now, London happens to be located where the on-shore lake breezes from Lake Erie to the south and Lake Huron to the northwest converge in the late afternoons in summer. This lake breeze convergence forces the warm moist air to rise rapidly, in turn initiating deep convection and the formation of cumulonimbus (thunder) clouds.

So London and surrounds get dumped on by snow in the winter and saturated by thunder storms in summer.

HTH.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

The distribution of fall. In technical terms, the degree of whomp. 100" spread over the winter is a different problem to 24" in one day and the areas in question get lots of inches all at once.

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

Still not seeing the downside I'm afraid. In inches London is getting 76. So if they get 24 once that leaves little the rest of the winter.

Currentresults.com for London
Most days of snowfall in London leave less than five centimetres (2 inches), of fresh snow on the ground. For 13 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least five cm.

Big snowstorms of over ten cm a day normally occur about four times a year. But major blizzards that dump 25 cm or more in one day are rare events that happen only once a decade.

Currentresults.com for Moncton
Most days of snowfall in Moncton leave less than five centimetres (2 inches) of fresh snow on the ground. For 19 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least five cm.

Big snowstorms of over ten cm a day normally occur nine or ten times a year. Major blizzards that dump 25 cm or more in one day happen just once or twice a year.

13 times a year, 4 times a year and once in a decade as opposed to 19, 9/10 and once or twice a year

Even if I was looking to move to London you're not succeeding in putting me off. :rofl:

Re: What do you dislike about living in Ontario?
 

OK then, it's your back.