Suddenly it's cold and windy with just enough rain so you know it's there. I was out in the park with Memphis and her buddies, and we were unprepared for the chill in the air and the persistence of the wind. I looked up and saw a plane heading north to the airport through rain and clouds, and another, and another. We hardly ever see planes flying in north.
Memphis loves the cooler weather. She feels good and frisky and she wants to run and play and wrestle and even chase a ball or two. The owners of the short-haired dogs are talking about clothing for their dogs. Don't they already have a fur coat, I ask? Memphis is made for the cold.
When Tuffy P came in from work, she reported the storm was on its way south. I took Memphis for a quick walk. By the time we got to the corner though, I knew I had to turn back and not delay. Thunder cracked and rumbled across the sky. From the front lawn I could see the storm front. A bank of light-coloured clouds were flying across the sky at tremendous speed. To the northwest, the light was strange and sickly. Gulls were flying in strange patterns. Then the wind picked up, and Memphis and I slipped inside. Within seconds the rain and the wind came roaring across the street. The rain came in sheets, one after another and the locust tree in the front yard waved around like a terrified scarecrow. The sky lit up and lit up again.
By 8:00 it was over, at least the first and hopefully main round of it. We could see lightning strike south and east over the lake.
UPDATE some excellent pics and video footage on blogTO I've heard reports that multiple tornadoes touched down in our area last night, but then this morning I heard the weather moguls were arguing about which were actually tornadoes and which were other un-named nasty weather events.
Thunderstorms are expected in Toronto, but also up where I look for mushrooms. If we get some good quantities of rain today and tomorrow, I think I'll spend Saturday morning stumbling about in a forest.
Our area experienced very severe thunderstorms today which dumped a remarkable amount of water down in just a few hours. Driving home from work, I couldn't get through the underpass south of Horner on Dixie, Thirtieth or Kipling due to 2-3 feet of water under the bridge, but finally discovered that Brown's Line was OK.
The photos are the Anchovy Swamp, formerly known as our backyard. I may go out there after dinner with a fly rod if there's an evening mayfly hatch and see if I can hook into a big grass trout. The good news is that our basement is dry!
The Storms are on the Ocean (Mother Maybelle Carter)
We experienced a nasty storm this afternoon. I was driving back from the river when it caught up with me. The wind picked up every piece of litter, along with insulation and other junk from local buildings. It looked like clumps of black clouds blowing across the highway. Very severe winds. I was quite nervous driving and exited the highway as quickly as I could.
No damage at home, but lots of stuff blown around in the neighbourhood.
This article has a picture of some downed hydro poles!
Our weather forcast today called for chance of flurries. Not much happened on the north side of the city, but down here by the lake the snow started at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning and is still coming down, now after midnight. I shovelled at 10:00 but looking out the window a few minutes ago, you can't tell. At least it's a light powder.
I was up early this morning to shovel out, put out the recycling, and drive Tuffy P to the Go train. Then, it was off to the 24 hour grocery store for a few last minute things I need for cooking dinner Christmas day. I drove by Village Butcher (our local most excellent organic butcher) at just after 8:00, and was surprised he was open this early. I had ordered a crown roast pork to cook on Christmas day, so I stopped in to pick it up. That place is going to be crazy today as everyone picks up their turkeys.
Last night's snow was significantly heavier than the previous batch, and it even drizzled on me a little as I shoveled out.
Fort Worth Blues is one of my favourite Steve Earle Tunes. OK, one more.... Here's Mr. Earle with the Del McCoury Band playing I Still Carry you Around. Beautiful.
I hope you all enjoy whatever it is you're celebrating. Have fun. Be safe.
I awoke to a pile of snow this morning. It was actually refreshing shovelling out. It wasn't too cold and the snow wasn't too heavy. We have a neighbour next door who is in his late eighties so the fellow on the other side of him and I cleaned up his walkways this morning and this afternoon I did his driveway.
After an uncharacteristically cool and wet spring in these parts, I heard we have a heat wave just around the corner, with temperatures soaring to 30 degrees celsius over the weekend. Go figure.
Earlier today, there was a break in the snow action, so I shoveled out the drive and ventured out to the grocery store. By the time I got back, the snow had started coming down full strength again, with no sign of a break.
Here it is, mid-March, and we're having another snowstorm. The snow started late afternoon yesterday and it snowed lightly but steadily all night. I stuck my head out this morning and took this picture on our front porch. Since then, the snow has picked up. I'm looking out the window right now, thinking I'm glad I'm not trying to drive anywhere in this mess. One report I heard suggested we were going to enjoy 36 hours of snow and up to 30 cm. Can't wait.
Our mayor has announced a plan for snow removal on some of Toronto's side-streets. The job is expected to be completed in three weeks, if March doesn't complete the job first. Crews will be working 24/7 to remove snow from city streets. This is welcome news as we haven't seen any snow-removal activity so far this year.
From the Toronto Star, "On streets where parking is allowed on both sides of the streets, residents will be given 48 hours’ notice to move their vehicles so plows can get through. Residents will be allowed to park nearby, and parking enforcement officers will use “discretion,” said Gary Welsh, general manager of transportation services.
Also, municipal green “P” lots will offer free parking from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. in areas where crews are clearing the snow.
If drivers have not moved their cars, then there will be “friendly tows,” to nearby areas. There will be no tickets or towing charges.
On streets where parking is allowed on one side of the street, residents will not be required to move their cars. But city staff said it would be helpful if they would because it would allow crews to remove the snow.
While the city will try to notify all residents of cleanup efforts in their area, Mayor David Miller said it will not be possible for cleanup efforts this weekend. The city will have a listing of streets to be cleared on its website today at www.toronto.ca."
We have some of the biggest potholes you can imagine in the Toronto area right now. Where is the worst of them? I would say, St. Clair Ave, driving east near Gunn's Loop, by the old stockyards. It is getting seriously dangerous to drive a car through there. Another bad stretch is along Eglinton Ave. in Mississauga between Renforth and Dixie, driving east, in the right-hand lane. There are some big and remarkably deep potholes through there. There has been some active patching along Eglinton, but the St. Clair stretch has simply been deteriorating over the past couple years with what seems like no effort at all to patch them up. I presume the idea is not not sink any money into the street until the tracks get ripped up for the TTC right-of-way. It is very difficult for the city staff to be on top of these potholes when we have so much snow, but I think it is reasonable to expect some basic maintenance when the weather allows.
Speaking of weather, I hear we may get another snowstorm on Sunday or Monday. Swell. We've already broken records for February snowfall here, and I've just about run out of places to put the stuff. Usually during or just after the storm, I hear an interview on the radio with some character from the city telling us that the main streets get priority but that all the side streets would be cleared within 24 hours. Har! That's a good one. On our street, which is a one-way residential street with street parking and speedbumps and no room to pile snow, the best we can hope for is a plow that takes just enough off the top that it's possible to carefully get through the snow. Residents pile their snow on the street, because there isn't any other place to put it.
