# Here it comes.....



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

The snow started here around 6:00 AM. Let's see if we get it as bad as some regions in the mid west. My guess is, no.

Anyway, be careful out there. This time of year as we know, people tend to want to take family trips.

I's a good idea to really think about whether that's the right decision under the circumstances.

Safety first folks.


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## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

We still have to work until at least 1pm today. I have to drive 20mins to my delivery area, then work until at least 1 (hoping it's no longer) then drive back during the time frame the blizzard is supposed to really hit. I hope work cuts off any pickup calls entirely so we can get done and off the road when finished. They have the pickup calls slated for the 1pm cutoff time. I really hope they scrap pickups all together and consider the safety and well being of the drivers. I can handle winter driving and all, but today with so many businesses closing earlier, take the stress off the drivers by not allowing work to build on top of what we already have to deal with.

Winter can suck most times. Give me cold days with the sun and no snow and I am content. Overcast and a bit milder I can live with......blizzard and trying to navigate streets and driveways and people front walks/steps covered in snow and drifts are entirely nowhere near my favourites list of work days.

This is in London so those west know what's coming.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Started last night in Ottawa area. I had a gig out of town and the roads where really messy coming back around 9pm. Took my time 60-70 kph all the way and made it home. Today, its snowing and raining all at the same time. Wind gusts so staying home. Be well and safe my friends.


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## Bullet (Jan 24, 2019)

Still just rain since last night in downtown TO with temps still above freezing. Currently 4 C as I post this 
Yucky stuff on the way 
Thanks for starting this post @Milkman 
Stay safe everyone


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I work from home so my commute is from the kitchen to my office (about a 5 second walk). My wife does have to work a few hours this morning near here, so I'll drive her there and pick her up afterwards. If it's too bad, she'll bail and do it another day.

Personally I love winter, and I don't even take advantage of it (winter sports et cetera). I like the cold and sitting outside with snow falling around me is among my favourite conditions.

I grew up in northern New Brunswick so anything we get here in Southern Ontario pales by comparison.

Nevertheless, shit does happen.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

marcos said:


> Started last night in Ottawa area. I had a gig out of town and the roads where really messy coming back around 9pm. Took my time 60-70 kph all the way and made it home. Today, its snowing and raining all at the same time. Wind gusts so staying home. Be well and safe my friends.



....coming home from a gig at *9:00 PM*....Awesome!

And please remember, it's not enough to be a good driver. You have to also be good enough to compensate for the complete idiots, impaired drivers, and flat out negligence out there.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

7:20am here and still nothing!

Accuweather said it was supposed to start at 10pm last night.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Milkman said:


> ....coming home from a gig at *9:00 PM*....Awesome!
> 
> And please remember, it's not enough to be a good driver. You have to also be good enough to compensate for the complete idiots, impaired drivers, and flat out negligence out there.


Yup, got passed by a whole lot of guys with 4by4 pickups but had my 4 way flashers on and stayed in the right lane on the 417 highway.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Milkman said:


> Personally I love winter, and I don't even take advantage of it (winter sports et cetera). I like the cold and sitting outside with snow falling around me is among my favourite conditions.


I like it because I don't have to feel guilty about hanging in the house doing nothing of consequence. It is like a pass for the acceptance of my curmudgeonly, hermetic ways.

We are supposed to get some crazy weather here on the west coast too. It is presently snowing, that straight down fast small stuff that accumulates like crazy, then ice rain/pellets then rain. By Sunday it should be around 10 C so things are gonna get real ugly I presume.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

marcos said:


> Yup, got passed by a whole lot of guys with 4by4 pickups but had my 4 way flashers on and stayed in the right lane on the 417 highway.


LOL, yeah the 4 X 4 invincibility syndrome.....until they hit a patch of ice.....


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Mark Brown said:


> I like it because I don't have to feel guilty about hanging in the house doing nothing of consequence. It is like a pass for the acceptance of my curmudgeonly, hermetic ways.
> 
> We are supposed to get some crazy weather here on the west coast too. It is presently snowing, that straight down fast small stuff that accumulates like crazy, then ice rain/pellets then rain. By Sunday it should be around 10 C so things are gonna get real ugly I presume.


I remember snow days to be great fun as I grew up. Remember, northern NB gets a shocking amount of snow some (most?) years. Even so, it was MUCH rarer that school would have been cancelled. Without any hyperbole, I remember the power lines along the roads resting on the accumulated snow from the ploughs along each side.

We had to climb out windows to shovel the doorway to even get outside......

Seeing a snowfall like that now would be a lot of fun for me.


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## audiorep2 (Mar 28, 2009)

And in Nova Scotia ,......


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

audiorep2 said:


> And in Nova Scotia ,......
> View attachment 456409



I think it's moving from west to east. Stand by, LOL.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

They're calling for Armageddon again in Nova Scotia with high winds and power outages. Two generators and a propane oven means turkey regardless.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

They said to expect 10-15 cm. I think we got 1.0-1.5. I was expecting to have to shovel and it looks like the warmer weather today will take care of it.

I am somewhat ready for a power outage though.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Rollin Hand said:


> They said to expect 10-15 cm. I think we got 1.0-1.5. I was expecting to have to shovel and it looks like the warmer weather today will take care of it.
> 
> I am somewhat ready for a power outage though.


I just went for my morning walk and it will have to get a lot worse than this before I have any concerns. Hell, if they had closed the schools down east every time we got something like this, I'd still be learning to reed and rite.


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## Acoustic Tom (Apr 6, 2020)

Just rain here but the snow and high winds are expected around 10 am. All my running around is done and the fridge is full of the nectar of the gods. My job today is to make our ice rink for the season. The boards are up just need to add the liners and water. Mother nature should take care of the rest. Be careful and mindful out there people and let's enjoy a safe and happy holiday. If you don't need to go out, stay home and jam.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

In the Ottawa Valley, we had a few intermittent power outages, in the early morning. Still above freezing here however, there is some freezing occurring so, be careful outside.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Milkman said:


> I just went for my morning walk and it will have to get a lot worse than this before I have any concerns. Hell, if they had closed the schools down east every time we got something like this, I'd still be learning to reed and rite.


I am starting to get the impression (read: have known for many years) that the news and the weather media play up the possibility for ratings/clicks. They closed the schools here in Ottawa today in anticipation of "Snowmageddon II: The Freezening," and they've left them open for far worse. 

When I was a kid, they only closed the schools once, and that was when the bus drivers, en masse, refused to drive. My parents, in a rare fit of safety consciousness, agreed.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I made sure my squirrel buddies are fed.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

It's all going to depend on the wind. It's snowing hard here right now, but it's a nice fluffy snow and a beautiful still morning. As far as I know the temperature is going to drop 10 degrees and the wind is supposed to really kick up though. There's enough snow on the ground right now even that it would cause a mess if that happens.

I'm in orangeville and the roads going North and West from here turn into a nightmare even with moderately high winds.


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## Bullet (Jan 24, 2019)

Milkman said:


> I made sure my squirrel buddies are fed.
> 
> View attachment 456421


Looks peaceful … 
Lucky squirrels !


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Bullet said:


> Looks peaceful …
> Lucky squirrels !


A constant source of entertainment. Sometimes I just sit on the swings and act like a nut.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Milkman said:


> The snow started here around 6:00 AM. Let's see if we get it as bad as some regions in the mid west. My guess is, no.
> 
> Anyway, be careful out there. This time of year as we know, people tend to want to take family trips.
> 
> ...


I got up for a couple minutes at 5:30 am and looked out the window. Was no snow, just looked wet. Got up again at 7:30 and a blanket of snow. Not much though. I had to run out to retrieve something from the backyard shed and it wasn't very cold out. I don't think (hope) we'll get much of a storm here in Brantford.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

guitarman2 said:


> I got up for a couple minutes at 5:30 am and looked out the window. Was no snow, just looked wet. Got up again at 7:30 and a blanket of snow. Not much though. I had to run out to retrieve something from the backyard shed and it wasn't very cold out. I don't think (hope) we'll get much of a storm here in Brantford.


Well, certainly not compared to some regions across the continent. Somehow our location generally allows us to escape most of the lake effect. Maybe the river affects our local climate as well. Hamilton and Cambridge, London will often get hammered while we get a dusting.

We'll see.

Edit: just in case, I plugged in the batteries for my snowblower just now.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Deep in snow here, 20-30cm already. We lost power a hour ago. Silver lining is the strong wind are pushing the snow off the tempo so that's done. 
Only thing I'm worry about is how long it's going to take them to restore the power, we have a fireplace but still not enough to keep the house warm. But to be faire I was surprise we still had electricity for breakfast.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Derek_T said:


> Deep in snow here, 20-30cm already. We lost power a hour ago. Silver lining is the strong wind are pushing the snow off the tempo so that's done.
> Only thing I'm worry about is how long it's going to take them to restore the power, we have a fireplace but still not enough to keep the house warm. But to be faire I was surprise we still had electricity for breakfast.



Yeah losing power would be a drag. Fingers crossed for you man.

Hopefully you don't have to resort to burning mahogany, ash, maple, , rosewood et cetera.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Derek_T said:


> Deep in snow here, 20-30cm already. We lost power a hour ago. Silver lining is the strong wind are pushing the snow off the tempo so that's done.
> Only thing I'm worry about is how long it's going to take them to restore the power, we have a fireplace but still not enough to keep the house warm. But to be faire I was surprise we still had electricity for breakfast.



What area are you in?


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

guitarman2 said:


> What area are you in?


North of Montreal in the Laurentian. Not to up north like Mont-Tremblant though, they are having it worth there.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

@Derek_T
Hope you get your power restored very soon. Not having power totally complicates almost all aspects of day-to-day life.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Milkman said:


> Hopefully you don't have to resort to burning mahogany, ash, maple, , rosewood et cetera.


I had to cut down two big maple tree following the Derecho, I'll be outside splitting wood with the mace if needs be


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

greco said:


> Where are you located?
> Hope you get your power restored very soon. Not having power totally complicates almost all aspects of day-to-day life.


Laurentian, so far Hydro says power should be back in an hour. But when I look at the map of outage I think they still believe in Santa.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

This is why I advocate so strongly for generators and supply panels. A 1500 hundred dollar investment and you are covered for life. Ok, not life, but for a good long while. I have had my generator for 7 seasons now and other than flooding the thing with gas because I forgot to shut the fuel line off it has been rock solid. All 7500 watts!


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

I woke to the sound of rain, only it was not. Frozen ice, not snow, sounds like rain as it falls onto snow. Never seen this before in my life. I filmed it.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Stephenlouis said:


> I woke to the sound of rain, only it was not. Frozen ice, not snow, sounds like rain as it falls onto snow. Never seen this before in my life. I filmed it.


We were getting a bit of the ice pellet rain up here in Bowser, I just went out and got in the hot tub. That fixed that.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Mark Brown said:


> This is why I advocate so strongly for generators and supply panels. A 1500 hundred dollar investment and you are covered for life. Ok, not life, but for a good long while. I have had my generator for 7 seasons now and other than flooding the thing with gas because I forgot to shut the fuel line off it has been rock solid. All 7500 watts!


I agree, I've been dreaming about it, but to heat the house in winter I think I need more than 7500W.
My plan is to have a heat pump installed and a generator supporting the heating pump. So I can heat the house in winter.
Sadly this cost a lot more than 1500$


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Derek_T said:


> I agree, I've been dreaming about it, but to heat the house in winter I think I need more than 7500W.
> My plan is to have a heat pump installed and a generator supporting the heating pump. So I can heat the house in winter.
> Sadly this cost a lot more than 1500$


Yeah, a heat pump is gonna make that a little less cost effective. That being what it is though, we don't even have electric heat, 100% wood so we do alright. I don't ever pull much more than 2kW off the genny so in theory, if it was required I could have left 3 or so 1500W baseboards going. Generators are like guitar amps, its always good to have head room. 

Don't discount the generator though, it is something that can never be a bad investment unless maybe you live in a condo, then it might not be the best. Suppose it could hang out on the deck and piss off the condo board though and that's something. You can always relocate it later and move the electrical to accommodate future plans.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Mark Brown said:


> This is why I advocate so strongly for generators and supply panels. A 1500 hundred dollar investment and you are covered for life. Ok, not life, but for a good long while. I have had my generator for 7 seasons now and other than flooding the thing with gas because I forgot to shut the fuel line off it has been rock solid. All 7500 watts!


We just got one for early Christmas because my mother in law thinks that our CPAP machines stopping means we die instantly. It doesn't, and we have battery back ups. The generator is still in the box in my garage.

I do think that we will get it hooked into the house. It'd be worth it to not have to throw out everything in the fridge, and to have power to run our gas hot water tank and furnace. And heaven forbid the kids don't have wi-fi!


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Rollin Hand said:


> because my mother in law thinks that our CPAP machines stopping means we die instantly


LOL

My CPAP not running means I die instantly, but that is because the wife will murder me. Slightly different than your circumstance, but hey, you got a great gift out of it!!


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

Mark Brown said:


> We were getting a bit of the ice pellet rain up here in Bowser, I just went out and got in the hot tub. That fixed that.


Im up your way quite a bit. One of my best friends has a farm near spider lake/ Horne caves/ Qualicum Beach, love it up there, I should have bought when it was cheap!


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Milkman said:


> The snow started here around 6:00 AM. Let's see if we get it as bad as some regions in the mid west. My guess is, no.
> 
> Anyway, be careful out there. This time of year as we know, people tend to want to take family trips.
> 
> ...


<sigh> Nothing worse than clearing snow in the pouring rain.....


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Mark Brown said:


> That being what it is though, we don't even have electric heat, 100% wood so we do alright. I don't ever pull much more than 2kW off the genny so in theory, if it was required I could have left 3 or so 1500W baseboards going. Generators are like guitar amps, its always good to have head room.


Maybe you're right, I'll have to investigate a bit more. Winter here is between -15 to -25 so the consumption is probably not the same as yours in BC.
I don't discount generator though, it's still in the plan to get one. The heat pump is the ideal scenario.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Derek_T said:


> Maybe you're right, I'll have to investigate a bit more. Winter here is between -15 to -25 so the consumption is probably not the same as yours in BC.
> I don't discount generator though, it's still in the plan to get one. The heat pump is the ideal scenario.


I'm in a bit of an "ideal" situation for it to be honest. We have a very small home, no electric heat, I didn't wire the hot water tank because I can live without that.... but we have all the lights and outlets in the whole home. My average consumption when the kids are up and things are happening is around 2-2.5kW/h so we have a lot of wiggle room. I have it to keep my sump running because in the winter that thing needs to be on always without stop or my crawlspace will flood. 

I would strongly recommend looking into it more, it isn't ideal to try and be running multiple electric heating options but it can maintain a minimal amount and keep you from being frozen. You can cycle them to keep your house from freezing up for sure. I took the very cheap approach because I am a pragmatic person so manual start genny, manually switched panel, loud AF generator, but there are some very good options available for those willing to spend a little more. If I had to go at it again, which I will someday, I will look at a LP generator with auto start and a switch. For the additional thousand or so, it would really make me feel more secure. I wasn't in a financial position when I did it to really consider the luxury but having lived with it like this for so long now, I no longer consider it so much a luxury and almost a necessary feature. Almost.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Mark Brown said:


> I would strongly recommend looking into it more


You're preaching to a converted my friend .


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I have been watching the weather for the last couple of days as I love winter, snow and the storms but we were thinking of heading up toward the Laurentians today from Montreal as it is raining very hard here and most of the snow we had last night is disappearing fast but there is a lot more snow once you get around Blainville. Out northeast of Quebec city they may get around 75 cm (30"). 

That is like what we used to get in NB, eh Mike?


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Steadfastly said:


> we were thinking of heading up toward the Laurentians today from Montreal


If you carry a shovel and a generator with you you're welcome to drop by


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

audiorep2 said:


> And in Nova Scotia ,......
> View attachment 456409


Bastard !!!! LOL, just kidding. Looks really nice out by the water.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

nonreverb said:


> <sigh> Nothing worse than clearing snow in the pouring rain.....



You were kidding right?


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## MetalTele79 (Jul 20, 2020)

Snowing right now in Toronto and it's not so bad but the wind is quite strong. I've seen a few recycling/green bins blowing down the street.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Milkman said:


> The snow started here around 6:00 AM. Let's see if we get it as bad as some regions in the mid west. My guess is, no.
> 
> Anyway, be careful out there. This time of year as we know, people tend to want to take family trips.
> 
> ...


We're just getting a bit of rain right now. It's very calm out. Later today might be bad when the cold front moves in.


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

It's not great here. Trees across the street everywhere. An electric pole cut 1km from here, so no power.

I went to the next village to buy a 2nd gas can, we'll be powerless for a while I think, no chance to take. But the generator provides juice for cooking, fridge, freezer, water pump, internet, TV. We are not pitiful. Just for the hot water on the wood stove.

On leaving, at 7:30, I was blocked 2km from here, a big tree in the middle of the road. A truck from the city arrives in the opposite direction. I wait 10 minutes, they are on the chainsaw. I come back home for lunch.

I leave later, ±8h30, broken trees at every 100 meters, big ones. The road is covered with all kinds of branches, slalom race. It was as windy as I've ever seen here, like at the beach in the hurricane tail in Îles de la Madeleine. On the main road, half a pole is hanging over the road, firefighters and all, alternating passage in single line. 

On the way back, same thing except when leaving the main road. A big tree in the middle of the street. I try to move it, nahhh. A ******* pickup arrives on the other side, I step on the top of the branches so that he can come to my side. We chain the tree and clear a lane. A little further, as I follow a towing platform it slams on the brakes, a big ... big pine falls on the edge of road, in 4 or 5 meter of us two. Damn ! 10 meters further, electric cable lying across the street. I call 911 and while I give instructions, a city pickup arrives. 

I have 4 km to go, will I survive? Yep, I get home without any more hiccups. 

ROCK & ROLL


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Milkman said:


> You were kidding right?


It's like throwing wet cement....


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Well, it's getting progressively crappy here.

My wife cleans homes and had a regular client about 10 km down the road this morning. Since not much is going on in the automotive industry at this point, I drove her there and will pick her up around 1:00.

It wasn't the worst I've seen, but not nice. I stopped on the way home for something for dinner and had to crawl out the passenger side (frozen).

All fixed now, but that's the kind of day it's turning into.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

A bit of snow here, about 4" more after this photo. Two kids came from the lower mainland last night 1 day early as no travel is recommended today.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Milkman said:


> LOL, yeah the 4 X 4 invincibility syndrome.....until they hit a patch of ice.....


Or try to stop.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Milkman said:


> You were kidding right?


Pouring rain in Ottawa right now. +4 or so. After snow overnight..

Update, a drizzle now. Back to -10ish by tonight then the crazy forecast is for +5 from Dec 29 to Jan 2.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)




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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

What the heck is going on normally we see you folks back east getting all of this ugly weather before we do. Now it looks like we are going to miss Christmas with the grand kids they have snow over a foot again and freezing rain is suppose to come next. And this is my daughters first snow driving year. This is the very first time that has happened and it makes me sad that we can't celebrate together.
We have to regularly bring in our hummingbird feeder poor buggers.
Please stay safe as this weather is the strangest I have ever seen in my 66 years here in Canada and we have almost shut down our airport so very few flights going in or out.
Wow is all I can say or think for this crazy weather.


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## Speck_WFTR (2 mo ago)

... wow, looks like it's circling up, and Ottawa is about to get it _again_ ...
weather map


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Milkman said:


> Well, it's getting progressively crappy here.
> 
> My wife cleans homes and had a regular client about 10 km down the road this morning. Since not much is going on in the automotive industry at this point, I drove her there and will pick her up around 1:00.
> 
> ...


When I complain things are getting bad out there, all I do is look at this mess and I'm thankful I am where I am.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

nonreverb said:


> When I complain things are getting bad out there, all I do is look at this mess and I'm thankful I am where I am.
> View attachment 456438


one of my grandsons is booked on a flight to Montreal tomorrow to spend Christmas with a special girl and her family. I'll be setting a place for him at our dinner table, cause I don't think he'll be going anywhere. I'll be very surprized if he does. I'm not grinching here, it will be awesome if he makes it. But it's just not looking good.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

nonreverb said:


> When I complain things are getting bad out there, all I do is look at this mess and I'm thankful I am where I am.
> View attachment 456438


Fortunately even when I lived far from home (as a travelling musician) I never felt it necessary or even desirable to fly home for christmas. I also learned not to ever travel on business during US thanksgiving week OR anytime close to christmas.

In much the same sense as seasoned drinkers refer to NYE as amature night.......


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

[h://video]


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Lincoln said:


> one of my grandsons is booked on a flight to Montreal tomorrow to spend Christmas with a special girl and her family. I'll be setting a place for him at our dinner table, cause I don't think he'll be going anywhere. I'll be very surprized if he does. I'm not grinching here, it will be awesome if he makes it. But it's just not looking good.


Our daughter is in town but her boyfriend had to stay behind in Montreal until today. His bus is now cancelled and our daughter had to book him for tomorrow. She just finished up the booking and the site crashed.....Turns out he was able to get the last seat on the train this afternoon. An expensive alternative but with the state of things as they are, he was lucky to get anything at all. Now to get him here from the train station this evening as we live about 20 kms away....


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

It's blowing pretty good out now.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Speck_WFTR said:


> ... wow, looks like it's circling up, and Ottawa is about to get it _again_ ...
> weather map


If you believe the Weather Network, aka the Network of LIES.

Their map said we were going to get a big snow last night, and was wrong. Hopefully they are wrong again.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

47cm later storm has passed here, time to wake up the snowblower.
Still no electricity though.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Derek_T said:


> 47cm later storm has passed here, time to wake up the snowblower.
> Still no electricity though.



Well, hopefully if the worst of the storm has passed, the linesmen will be out fixing things.

Good luck!


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## Permanent Waves (Jun 2, 2020)

nonreverb said:


> It's like throwing wet cement....


Yup, I just gave up on the snowblower. Had I known I would have gotten up in the middle of the night to blow it away before the rain kicked in. Now I have to do every square inch by hand before the flash freeze turns it to ice. Just a mess out there. Back at it as soon as my gloves are dry.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Permanent Waves said:


> Yup, I just gave up on the snowblower. Had I known I would have gotten up in the middle of the night to blow it away before the rain kicked in. Now I have to do every square inch by hand before the flash freeze turns it to ice. Just a mess out there. Back at it as soon as my gloves are dry.


Did a good portion with the SB. Almost stalled it twice.....snow came out of the blower about as fast as squeezing toothpaste. Finished it off with some heavy shovel lifts.....done....pre Xmas beer time.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

There's not enough snow here so far to bother with a snowblower, but it's supposed to last awhile. I scraped the sidewalk clean with a shovel.

I just drove over to a nearby town to pick up my wife.

Driving conditions are not so bad as long as you take it slow, plan your stops, leave a safe distance et cetera.....

but, people are not all doing that. I was passed twice leaving town and one of them fishtailed badly as he went by.

Saw two accident scenes (happened before I got there).

Oh, and please, *PULEASE turn your freaking FULL headlights on* for Pete's sake. Running lights are not good enough. It's not about you seeing better. It's about other drivers seeing YOU.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Milkman said:


> Well, hopefully if the worst of the storm has passed, the linesmen will be out fixing things.
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks !
Speaking of fixing things, while joyfully plowing through the snow, the snowblower decided to eat the car charger… 
Murphys’ law.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Visibility in Goderich at this moment is about 200' but variable. The wind is audibly menacing. -7C, but windchill about -20. I plan to go out shortly to move a little snow, more for the exercise than the practicality.

Stay safe folks.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Derek_T said:


> Thanks !
> Speaking of fixing things, while joyfully plowing through the snow, the snowblower decided to eat the car charger…
> Murphys’ law.



Crap!!!
Is it a trickle charger (to keep a summer car battery happy) or an electric car charger (much more expensive)?


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Driving home southbound on the 400. Freeway has a guy who slid into the centre concrete barrier in the fast lane….standing in the 400 outside of his car pacing back and forth near the line between the fast lane and the middle lane…in live traffic, cars driving within 1 foot of him at 70 km/h. All it takes is one guy over reacting to him being on the road and in trying to avoid him acually loses it and ends up killing him.

So let’s break this down. AFTER you’ve lost traction and slid into a concrete barrier you are still unaware that it’s slippery and cars can’t manoeuvre or stop effectively?

What a maroon!


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Just hoping that ourservice gets the mound the city left in our driveway before it freezes, otherwise it cpuld get quite loud. Probably going out soon to lay down the ice melter.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I wonder how many people will blame their accidents today on weather conditions.

When you fail to drive according to the conditions, it's not a weather issue. It's the nut behind the wheel.


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## audiorep2 (Mar 28, 2009)

3 PM on the Bay . Lots of rain and wind ,... but praise be that this is not comin' down as snow .


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Milkman said:


> I wonder how many people will blame their accidents today on weather conditions.
> 
> When you fail to drive according to the conditions, it's not a weather issue. It's the nut behind the wheel.


Indeed...patience is a virtue. You'll still get there whether it's now or 10 minutes from now.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Not seeing this as much of a storm so far where I am. It’s snowing but yeah.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I’ve seen people walking on the 427 and the 401 a few times over the last month or so. And it wasn’t because their car broken down they were just out there walking on the shoulder. This is in Toronto so it’s possible that people just don’t know that you’re not supposed to walk on closed access highways.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Milkman said:


> Crap!!!
> Is it a trickle charger (to keep a summer car battery happy) or an electric car charger (much more expensive)?


The expensive one lol
(Edit) powers back now !


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Derek_T said:


> Thanks !
> Speaking of fixing things, while joyfully plowing through the snow, the snowblower decided to eat the car charger…
> Murphys’ law.


That just isn't fair man.

Get out the soldering iron and get 'er right!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Derek_T said:


> The expensive one lol
> (Edit) powers back now !


Yeah that sucks. I just had to rescue my daughter and her man. They ran out of gas (yeah I know).

They failed to factor in how much more gas you use in shit like this, particularly when you're driving a pickup truck with no weight over the back wheels, LOL. Lesson learned.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Mark Brown said:


> That just isn't fair man.
> 
> Get out the soldering iron and get 'er right!


I thought about it for a second but it’s a massacre lol, nothing salvageable unfortunately.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Snow started in Ottawa.

And a little light enjoyment of someone else's pain, and the resulting sarcasm.









An Iowa Sports Guy Delivered A Hilariously Cranky Weather Report


Sports guy Mark Woodley was called into cover a blizzard for his Iowa TV station. He was not a fan.




uproxx.com


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Derek_T said:


> I thought about it for a second but it’s a massacre lol, nothing salvageable unfortunately.


You've seen my 5E3? Nothing is beyond redemption 🤣


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Way worse at the lake now than when I last posted. Surf is higher, temperature lower, wind faster, white-out continuous. Not a lot of snow accumulation yet, but it is filling in sheltered areas and drifting.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

I was out before the sun was up blowing the snow. There was a lot of it! Over a foot I would say. Took me until about 11 to get it all cleared up. Blowing like the Dickens out there too. As of now (3:40), it's still coming down and blowing. Just another Northern Ontario day. So thankful that it is the light weight stuff and no rain/wet/slush/sleet crap common in the southern part of the province.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

The wind here is crazy. It just suddenly kicked up about 10 and it's been relentless since. They shit down all the roads in Dufferin at 2:30. I can't even imagine what the roads north and west of here would be like right now. It sounds like a train outside. The power flicked on and off just enough to mess with my workday. The modem and routers keep resetting each time.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Not much to do so I went outside to watch the cars trying to make it up the hill. Quite a smoke show from some of them burning their tires and not going anywhere. One got halfway up and then started sliding back down...lol


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Our power started to flicker around 10:00. Went out completely by 11:00. Came on about 2:00, and went out again about an hour ago. 
Didn't get nearly the amount of snow we were spotted for. But the No power thing sucks.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

SWLABR said:


> Our power started to flicker around 10:00. Went out completely by 11:00. Came on about 2:00, and went out again about an hour ago.
> Didn't get nearly the amount of snow we were spotted for. But the No power thing sucks.


Yes, that would suck for sure.

I sure hope they get it back up quickly for you.

You’re pretty close to us here.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Rough day in toronto but at least they got the bike lanes cleared before the sidewalks and the roads.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Permanent Waves said:


> Yup, I just gave up on the snowblower. Had I known I would have gotten up in the middle of the night to blow it away before the rain kicked in. Now I have to do every square inch by hand before the flash freeze turns it to ice. Just a mess out there. Back at it as soon as my gloves are dry.


We are such slaves to our vehicles.


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## Permanent Waves (Jun 2, 2020)

Doug Gifford said:


> We are such slaves to our vehicles.


Well, I was just trying to clear a passage for the ambulance to come pick me up after my heart attack .


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Permanent Waves said:


> Well, I was just trying to clear a passage for the ambulance to come pick me up after my heart attack .


We are such slaves to our vital organs.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

It would be good to stay home tonight. This is on the 402. The good thing about all these crashes is that no one has been seriously hurt.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Powers been back on just over 1/2hr now. Mad dash to make dinner before it goes out again!


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Nasty stuff on the 402. Be difficult extracting the injured people and you could freeze to death waiting. And almost nothing where I live it’s just really cold and some snow. I was expecting the power to go out based on the predictions because where I live it’s really old infrastructure and it has been of for a couple of days in previous storms.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

There's a stretch of the 401 closed down now as well. Big crashes. I think it may be near Chatham.

Great day to not go anywhere unless it's absolutely necessary.

As long as the power stays on, we're safe and warm here.

I hope you all can say the same.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

SWLABR said:


> Powers been back on just over 1/2hr now. Mad dash to make dinner before it goes out again!


That's great news.

How's the heat?


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Milkman said:


> That's great news.
> 
> How's the heat?


Heat wise we’re OK. I’ve always said we fair better in a power outage in winter than summer. Wood stove in the basement family room has been pumping most of the day. Worse case scenario I can heat up some soup on that!!


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Yeah, we were supposed to have the office bash at some restaurant today but we decided not to open up this morning and adjourned the aforementioned festivities sine die.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

I have moved our cars out of the driveway as we have two large trees in either side.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Guncho said:


> I have moved our cars out of the driveway as we have two large trees in either side.


that belongs in the category of damn good ideas.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Wardo said:


> Yeah, we were supposed to have the office bash at some restaurant today but we decided not to open up this morning and adjourned the aforementioned festivities sine die.


I learn something new every day...


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Wardo said:


> that belongs in the category of damn good ideas.


Hopefully someone doesn't drive into them coming around the corner. Lol.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Guncho said:


> Hopefully someone doesn't drive into them coming around the corner. Lol.


Yeah, well there is that.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. .. lol


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Everyone is charging their devices in case of an outage, I know where the candles and matches/lighters are, the vehicles are positioned so that the truck gets out first as it's most able, and most accessible to the front door in case I need its built in generator.

And...the stockings are hung by the guitars with care.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Just windy here. Went to work at 6:30am, home by noon. Feels like a windy winter day but maybe a few mild winters have changed what people expect of the season. Got some provisions in case.

friends are holding an xmas event. May go to see how the roads are now and if the driveway needs shovelling. Did the stairs before work -turns out the snow was the grip..


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Canada .. deal with it.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Just noticed the hygrometer taking a dive. Need to crank up the humidifier a bit.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Travel… "not advised." Seems a bit mild. Maybe "deprecated" to dip into computer lingo.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

The temperature here in Montreal went from +8C to 0C in one hour. There is ice everyone as it all got quick frozen.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

laristotle said:


> Canada .. deal with it.


Last night the news was calling it a “Generational Storm”. 
All day I’m thinking … meh, we had this all year every year when I was a kid… oh wait… 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s… crap! That’s a generation!


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

-12 which really ain’t that much I guess but I was just outside and it’s damn cold. I pity them
poor sonsa bitches that are sleeping in the streets or camped out in the Rosedale Vally just a 100 yards away from the fortune that could not save them.


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## PTO (12 mo ago)

Hope everyone is safe and has power back. It snowed all day here in Hamilton but with little accumulation, at least in my neighbourhood. Of course it was going sideways most of the time so maybe Niagara got it all…


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Saturday morning...I'm going out for a few hours to fire up the snow thrower and clean off everything I cleaned off yesterday...lol.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Well, I woke up, so that's good.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Mostly blowing snow today so far creating bad driving conditions. We should be good to go for our Xmas walk with the kids later on this pm.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Milkman said:


> Well, I woke up, so that's good.


Always a solid start to the day.

My mother in law is thinking about not coming for Christmas tomorrow because of the crash yesterday in London.

We are all in Ottawa.

My wife and I are trying to use logic on her (she would be trying on to drive on city streets 2 days after a highway pileup that happened 7 HOURS AWAY) but it may be a lost cause.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Rollin Hand said:


> Always a solid start to the day.
> 
> My mother in law is thinking about not coming for Christmas tomorrow because of the crash yesterday in London.
> 
> ...


If my mother in law was on her way over for Christmas I might try using that accident as a reason not to come, it's probably 40 or so hours away, but you just never know


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Rollin Hand said:


> Always a solid start to the day.
> 
> My mother in law is thinking about not coming for Christmas tomorrow because of the crash yesterday in London.
> 
> ...



Yeah it's hard to explain away fear. I would imagine Ottawa got a fair bit of snow, so driving for some may be unpleasant and intimidating. I guess in a sense, if someone is afraid of driving in these conditions, it may be safer for everyone if they don't.

In a case like that, because I probably would be sober, I would just pick her up and take her home afterwards if she was willing.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Yesterday the temperature rose from -40 to -20 overnight and it feels nice outside now compared to the last week of -30+ temps.


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## Acoustic Tom (Apr 6, 2020)

We must be on the windy side of the street as I had a 3 ft drift at the end of the driveway. The neighbors across the road have nothing. Oh well, the snowblower works fine. Windy as hell still but hey we live in Canada right?


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

tdotrob said:


> Yesterday the temperature rose from -40 to -20 overnight and it feels nice outside now compared to the last week of -30+ temps.


We went from -6 to what should hit about 8 or 10 today. My snow clearing regime is in place. The rain is here and dealing with it.

Let's hope it melts before my roof collapses. I think a person is supposed to use an engineer when replacing load bearing walls with beams. Let's hope my math was correct.


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Well, the Christmas Eve service I was to play tonight is canceled. Makes sense, though. We'll see how today unfolds for the Christmas morning service.

It was 13°C in the house when I got up. I was pretty concerned as I came downstairs. But luckily, Sabrina must have bumped the furnace master switch by the cellar stairs and it was an easy fix: turn it back on.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

A nice quiet morning. We’ve got a niece and nephew with us. Their power went out yesterday morning and didn’t come in till almost 8pm. The house dipped to 12 degrees!!! Mom and dad stayed there last night to make sure nothing crazy happened, but we took the kids. Even though our power was sketchy, they were better off being here than there. Thankfully ours stayed on all night. Wood stove kept us toasty. 

Now I’m gonna suit up and get the snowblower going. Doesn’t look too deep in most parts of the drive, but the drifts are pretty crazy in spots.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Mark Brown said:


> We went from -6 to what should hit about 8 or 10 today. My snow clearing regime is in place. The rain is here and dealing with it.
> 
> Let's hope it melts before my roof collapses. I think a person is supposed to use an engineer when replacing load bearing walls with beams. Let's hope my math was correct.


You are equal parts funny and scary.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

SWLABR said:


> You are equal parts funny and scary.


Imagine how I feel!!


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Mark Brown said:


> Imagine how I feel!!


Actually, it’s your wife I think I have the most empathy for… ha, ha!!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

This morning. The spray coated the mirrors in ice, the wind blew me as if on skates. Yesterday we saw a Black Legged Kittiwake.


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## amp boy (Apr 23, 2009)

Well i've started drink'n.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Still seems normal here. Anyone involved with that pileup on the 402?


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## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

from CBC:

*Highway 401 between Maitland, Ont. and Port Hope, Ont. is closed* due to unsafe driving conditions, the OPP said.

The stretch of highway has been closed since around midnight Friday, when *plows were forced to stop because of poor road conditions*. A few snow plows had returned to service by Saturday morning, but Police estimated whiteout conditions have reduced *visibility on the highway to around five feet*.

The OPP said 35 vehicles had been left in the ditch overnight between Mallorytown, Ont. and Gananoque, Ont., because it was not possible to tow them.

OPP officers were staged at the Mallorytown ONroute station Saturday to help stranded motorists and recover stuck vehicles, police said in a tweet.

*Over 500 collisions have been reported in the province*, the OPP said in a tweet early Saturday morning, although police were not able to provide an estimate specific to eastern Ontario.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Not too bad today. -14 and I was able to blow the snow with the wind instead of against it. It doesn't get much better than that. They are calling for + degree weather next weekend. I hope not. Let it stay cold so the snow stays nice and light.


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## audiorep2 (Mar 28, 2009)

8 AM today . Storm mostly gone . NO SNOW !!!


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Milkman said:


> Yeah it's hard to explain away fear. I would imagine Ottawa got a fair bit of snow, so driving for some may be unpleasant and intimidating. I guess in a sense, if someone is afraid of driving in these conditions, it may be safer for everyone if they don't.
> 
> In a case like that, because I probably would be sober, I would just pick her up and take her home afterwards if she was willing.


Yes, but the forecast for tomorrow falls squarely in the "eh, not bad" category, and we didn't get much snow. Add in that we are a winter city and the roads are mostly clear, and you can see my point.

I am thinking we ill offer to drive. She may have lots of boxes for the kids, so our minivan might prove useful.


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

Went from snow to flooding overnight. Nice. Im high and dry, but have been stuck here for 5 days, doing to see if I can get off this mountain, and over the next so I can work! Ill bring my camera, might be some amazing photo opportunities of the Cowichan


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Mooh said:


> This morning. The spray coated the mirrors in ice, the wind blew me as if on skates. Yesterday we saw a Black Legged Kittiwake.
> 
> View attachment 456589
> View attachment 456590
> View attachment 456592


Last winter we spent in Grand Bend, just south of you in Goderich. Yes, we know what the wind is like coming off the lake. That is some picture of the ice on the bench!


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

I can't believe how many stories I have heard in the last 2 days of people being stranded or worse. Like they figured that there were travel advisories so they would try anyway....Sheesh!

No, I take that back, I can believe it. I did some Smokin' Stampede ribs in the oven yesterday. 25 minutes at 425 degrees it said. Then they had to say on the next line that the food would be hot when it comes out of the oven. Must be an instruction geared toward the same kind of people.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)




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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

On the bright side...

I haven't seen a mosquito or blackfly in months.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Jim DaddyO said:


> On the bright side...
> 
> I haven't seen a mosquito or blackfly in months.


My belly is shaking! You definitely hit my funny bone.


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

85 hours without power/internet. It all just came back ¾h ago.

We were OK with a generator hooked up to a parallel breaker box. Fridge, freezer, kitchen and water pump hooked to it. Just missing the water heater and internet optic fiber. Wood stove kept us warn all along. We stink a little but that's OK.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Glad to hear it mate!

That's a long time to be off the grid, glad you had a back up.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)




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