weather you like it or not

Words that rhyme with “snow”

Photo by Pixabay

I can think of one:

NO!

We got snow last night, and it had the temerity to start sticking. There’s still some left this morning. Who decided it would be funny to flip January and March around? Why is Mother Nature being such a jerk?

The 10-day forecast claims that it will be 14C on March 13th. WE’LL SEE.

In the meantime, I’ll be here, huddled next to the heater.

March 2024: The Possibilities

March is a fun month, but also weird and sometimes horrible. Behold my list (with semi-random bold highlights):

  • We switch back to Daylight Saving Time, aka Proper Time, and gain back an extra hour of light in the evening (as of March 10). This is good for birding and just not being in the dark as much.
  • Spring officially begins (on March 19). I saw buds on trees back in January, so spring is really already underway, despite a few attempts at snow since then (Mother Nature is acting more like Mother from the terrible Police song of the same name right now).
  • Even without DST, daylight is stretching out longer into the evening.
  • Temperatures start getting milder. T-shirt weather soon! (More seriously, t-shirts become feasible outdoors as soon as next month, barring climate change hijinks that could genuinely push this into March).
  • A downside: Starting with February, the amount of precipitation goes down every month until September, when it starts going back up–except for March. March is an anomaly, where it is wetter than February. The downward trend resumes in April.
  • Speaking of, it is 3°C and raining as I type this, with a high of 7 forecast (two degrees off the average). Winter is reminding us it’s still official for 17 more days.
  • But also speaking of, March is where the last chance for real snow that sticks to the ground and needs to be shovelled, comes to an end. Looking at the 10-day forecast, it seems we are safe from any more snow accumulations for Winter 2023-24, though a few flakes may fall over the next few days here and there, just to annoy everyone.

Here’s the historic average for rainfall. It’s for New Westminster, but I checked, and it’s accurate for the whole Lower Mainland1Or Metro Vancouver, if you prefer to be all official about it.

March: We heard you like rain.

And with all that said, here is my haiku for March.

Haiku for March

Warmer and brighter
But still the rain won't let up
Take what you can get

Oh snow (again)

Although I had EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN IT, it has snowed again. It is still snowing as I type this. It’s been snowing for at least 11 hours or so.

There is a lot of snow.

I did not go out running today, as I am neither a Yeti nor a hill giant.

It is pretty, at least until it changes to rain and turns into a slushpocalypse.

But no more after this, thanks!

Compare to January 11th (six days ago, slightly different perspective):

Oh snow

Guest parking at 1:53 p.m. Note: Ventilation shack was not pulverized by the snow, it’s been like that since August 2023.

Today we had our first real snow of the winter. Considering we’re well into January, that’s not too bad. It is still unwelcome, albeit pretty. We are expected to get a few days of below-freezing temperatures before going back to our usual mild winter. Take a look-see at tomorrow’s low temperature:

  • Normal low: 2°C
  • Record low: -9°C
  • Expected low: -13°C (!)

And just a few weeks away we set a record for the high temperature hitting +13°C. Climate change is fun!

A trip to the pseudo-marsh

We just had one of those fun atmospheric rivers come through the area, and they always live up to the name, dumping huge amounts of water before moving on.

This afternoon I made a trip with my camera to Lower Hume Park and found the field to be squishy, muddy, and very marsh-like. There were ducks.

And seagulls and crows. And up top, some golden-crowned sparrows and several elusive juncos. The light was not great, but I got a few decent shots (I’ll post more later). Here’s a crow I shot on the way back home:

As the crow perches.

And a shot of the still very high Brunette River:

Whoever is in that tent is pushing their luck.

I regret the long pants

I normally run on Mondays, but this Monday has been Heavy Rain Day. I don’t really like running in the rain, but if it starts raining while I’m running, I shrug and continue. If there’s a light rain or drizzle before the run, I shrug and continue.

But if there’s heavy rain falling and I know that as soon as I step outside I will get drenched, I find motivation harder to come by. But tomorrow morning looks good, so I count skipping the run today as a handy day of extra rest.

I did have to go to the store, though, so I tried to time my trip between deluges and was…partly successful. I also wore long pants for the first time since April, covering up my sexy tanned legs. Worse, it wasn’t even cold out (17C — above normal). I later regretted the pants. But I waited until I got home to take them off. I’m not some perv.

Should we talk about the weather?

Today is the second day of Fall 2023. Tomorrow, as logic dictates, is the third.

We have a “special weather statement” for the third day:

I’m supposed to be running tomorrow. On the plus side, I won’t need to worry about getting a sunburn. On the negative side, getting clubbed by a laden tree branch would probably hurt a fair bit. I guess I’ll see how things look in the morning!

Precipitation! And a minor reflection on Summer 2023

Yes, it is raining today and that is noteworthy, as it has been very dry. It still doesn’t feel as weird or bad as last summer, though wildfires across BC are worse. I remember last summer having a surprising number of 30C+ days, and it was super humid from start to end. This year humidity has been low or normal (possibly due to El Niño) and while it’s been warm, we’re seeing high temperatures that are only may be a degree or higher than the norm. We may have had more 30C+ days in May than in July so far (and the forecast suggests it will stay that way).

Weather is weird. And getting weirder.

Thank you for attending my mini climate change TED Talk.

A perfectly cromulent forecast for the rest of July 2023