"Cold spell exposing Canadians as wimps": EXPOSING? IS THIS REALLY NEWS? - GoFuckYourself.com

MrPopup · 01-22-2003, 11:39 PM

I thought this was common knowledge?

****************************

Cold spell exposing Canadians as wimps
By SHAWNA RICHER
From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Halifax ? Numbing temperatures have gripped most of the country, from Alberta to Newfoundland, but a look at history suggests Canadians may be losing their legendary resilience when it comes to winter.

A cross-country temperature check Wednesday read more like a plummeting stock ticker. At their lowest points Wednesday morning, Edmonton was -43 and Regina -44. Calgary and Thunder Bay both hit -22. Moncton plunged to -24, Saint John to -18, and Montreal to an unseasonable -22. Toronto and Charlottetown weren't badly off at -15. St. John's, at -6, was balmy by comparison, but it has been clobbered with more than 40 centimetres of snow since the weekend. Only smug Vancouver, at 6 degrees, posted above zero, while Goose Bay, Labrador, which hit zero, was the mildest place in Canada east of the Rockies.

With the exception of B.C., temperatures across the country are 10 to 20 degrees lower than normal.

"That is almost uncivilized," said David Phillips, Environment Canada's senior climatologist. "If you stick a thermometer into Canada, it is colder almost everywhere, which is rare. It's remarkable, yes, but it's not a record cold."

Have Canadians, who live in the second coldest country in the world behind Russia and are regarded by most as hardy souls who chuckle in the face of snow and falling mercury, become a nation of weather weaklings?

Bill Gough, an associate professor of climatology at the University of Toronto, thinks so. Global warming has given us some relatively balmy winters the past few years. Either our memories are short or our toughness is faltering.

"Between 1850 and 1900 there were many days that went below -25," Mr. Gough said. "Sure it's cold, but it's not as ridiculously cold as in the past. Those temperatures just don't happen any more. We have a new threshold for cold and it's lower. I think we are becoming a nation of weather wimps. Especially in Toronto, where people don't like to dress for it."

Most people remember last winter, the warmest in a half-century, with temperatures nearly three degrees above normal.

Dan Kulac, a meterologist with Environment Canada in Edmonton, said he's been encouraging people to keep their children and pets indoors. Still, he said, there was no extreme-cold warning in Alberta. The guidelines are different for every region, he said.

"This is cold for us but it's not what we consider record or extreme, whereas -20 in Toronto almost shuts the city down" Mr. Kulac said. "In the Maritimes, this weather would be considered pretty harsh."

In Nova Scotia, where Wednesday morning dawned at -38 with the wind chill, it was so cold that salt wouldn't melt the road ice. Schools in most rural areas of the province were closed because driving conditions were so perilous. In Yarmouth, N.S., the animal shelter was collecting stray cats and dogs from the cold. In St. John's, the city is considering dumping snow into the harbour ? it has had more than 340 centimetres (eight feet) since winter began ? because places to clear it are running out. Meanwhile, New Brunswick was suffering through its third day of extensive power outages.

Mr. Gough, citing Survival, Margaret Atwood's thematic guide to Canadian literature, said winter weather is a unifying experience for Canadians, something we embrace, brag and complain about with equal passion.

"That extreme frontier experience is always our first topic of conversation," Mr. Gough said. "It's the one thing we all have in common in a culturally diverse country. Also, weather sticks in people's minds."

This cold snap is the result of an arctic weather system that is also chilling southern parts of the United States. El Nino, which has taken the frost off winter the past few years, remains, but is dormant for the time being. The good news, Mr. Phillips said, is that El Nino's "mid-winter break" looks to be coming to an end, and seasonal temperatures should return in the next few days.

The last time it was close to being this cold for this long was in 1994, when for four weeks beginning in mid-January, 11 of 30 days were colder than -20 and the coldest day fell to -31. So far, in this two-week stretch of Arctic temperatures, Wednesday was the only sub -20 day.

"That, 1994, was the granddaddy of cold stretches for me," Mr. Phillips said. "We thought Lake Ontario was going to freeze over, and that's only happened twice in 120 years (1893 and 1934). It's not even close to that now. For those too young to remember traditional Canadian winters, this gives them something to talk about. But seasonal temperatures are around the corner, and they will feel like a tropical breeze."

iwantchixx · 01-22-2003, 11:50 PM

We got too used to the unusual warm weather the past 10 years, then all of a suden, BAMM a cold snap. Doesn't stop me though, I grew up in a town that considered -30 to be mild for winter,

FlyingIguana · 01-23-2003, 12:39 AM

its like -44 with wind chill in alberta right now. i'm sorry but anything past -20 is fucking cold. even if you live in an igloo.

Aly-Python · 01-23-2003, 12:52 AM

I moved from Toronto to San Diego a year ago... I'm smiling quite broadly right now!

twistyneck · 01-23-2003, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by FlyingIguana
its like -44 with wind chill in alberta right now. i'm sorry but anything past -20 is fucking cold. even if you live in an igloo.

Wind chill is just a way to hype the weather. Unless you are outside naked it is meaningless.

FlyingIguana · 01-23-2003, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by twistyneck

Wind chill is just a way to hype the weather. Unless you are outside naked it is meaningless.

wind chill is worse. -15 with no wind chill isn't as bad as -12 with wind chill

CDSmith · 01-23-2003, 09:15 AM

-42 here overnight with the windchill.

I think that article is right... Some Canadians are forgetting ourselves and our past winters. I heard on the news that primary schools are cancelling recess..... RECESS, which was my favorite time of the schoolday for crap sakes! They NEVER cancelled recess when I was a kid. Out we'd go to the snow-covered soccer field all bundled up in our snowmobile suits and mitts and bela-clava's, and we'd damn well kick that ball around for 20 minutes or die trying.

Cancelling recess. Jeebus H Chranst, that's sacrilege.

01-22-2003, 11:39 PM	#1
MrPopup Confirmed User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: on the internet Posts: 3,783	"Cold spell exposing Canadians as wimps": EXPOSING? IS THIS REALLY NEWS? I thought this was common knowledge? **************************** Cold spell exposing Canadians as wimps By SHAWNA RICHER From Thursday's Globe and Mail Halifax ? Numbing temperatures have gripped most of the country, from Alberta to Newfoundland, but a look at history suggests Canadians may be losing their legendary resilience when it comes to winter. A cross-country temperature check Wednesday read more like a plummeting stock ticker. At their lowest points Wednesday morning, Edmonton was -43 and Regina -44. Calgary and Thunder Bay both hit -22. Moncton plunged to -24, Saint John to -18, and Montreal to an unseasonable -22. Toronto and Charlottetown weren't badly off at -15. St. John's, at -6, was balmy by comparison, but it has been clobbered with more than 40 centimetres of snow since the weekend. Only smug Vancouver, at 6 degrees, posted above zero, while Goose Bay, Labrador, which hit zero, was the mildest place in Canada east of the Rockies. With the exception of B.C., temperatures across the country are 10 to 20 degrees lower than normal. "That is almost uncivilized," said David Phillips, Environment Canada's senior climatologist. "If you stick a thermometer into Canada, it is colder almost everywhere, which is rare. It's remarkable, yes, but it's not a record cold." Have Canadians, who live in the second coldest country in the world behind Russia and are regarded by most as hardy souls who chuckle in the face of snow and falling mercury, become a nation of weather weaklings? Bill Gough, an associate professor of climatology at the University of Toronto, thinks so. Global warming has given us some relatively balmy winters the past few years. Either our memories are short or our toughness is faltering. "Between 1850 and 1900 there were many days that went below -25," Mr. Gough said. "Sure it's cold, but it's not as ridiculously cold as in the past. Those temperatures just don't happen any more. We have a new threshold for cold and it's lower. I think we are becoming a nation of weather wimps. Especially in Toronto, where people don't like to dress for it." Most people remember last winter, the warmest in a half-century, with temperatures nearly three degrees above normal. Dan Kulac, a meterologist with Environment Canada in Edmonton, said he's been encouraging people to keep their children and pets indoors. Still, he said, there was no extreme-cold warning in Alberta. The guidelines are different for every region, he said. "This is cold for us but it's not what we consider record or extreme, whereas -20 in Toronto almost shuts the city down" Mr. Kulac said. "In the Maritimes, this weather would be considered pretty harsh." In Nova Scotia, where Wednesday morning dawned at -38 with the wind chill, it was so cold that salt wouldn't melt the road ice. Schools in most rural areas of the province were closed because driving conditions were so perilous. In Yarmouth, N.S., the animal shelter was collecting stray cats and dogs from the cold. In St. John's, the city is considering dumping snow into the harbour ? it has had more than 340 centimetres (eight feet) since winter began ? because places to clear it are running out. Meanwhile, New Brunswick was suffering through its third day of extensive power outages. Mr. Gough, citing Survival, Margaret Atwood's thematic guide to Canadian literature, said winter weather is a unifying experience for Canadians, something we embrace, brag and complain about with equal passion. "That extreme frontier experience is always our first topic of conversation," Mr. Gough said. "It's the one thing we all have in common in a culturally diverse country. Also, weather sticks in people's minds." This cold snap is the result of an arctic weather system that is also chilling southern parts of the United States. El Nino, which has taken the frost off winter the past few years, remains, but is dormant for the time being. The good news, Mr. Phillips said, is that El Nino's "mid-winter break" looks to be coming to an end, and seasonal temperatures should return in the next few days. The last time it was close to being this cold for this long was in 1994, when for four weeks beginning in mid-January, 11 of 30 days were colder than -20 and the coldest day fell to -31. So far, in this two-week stretch of Arctic temperatures, Wednesday was the only sub -20 day. "That, 1994, was the granddaddy of cold stretches for me," Mr. Phillips said. "We thought Lake Ontario was going to freeze over, and that's only happened twice in 120 years (1893 and 1934). It's not even close to that now. For those too young to remember traditional Canadian winters, this gives them something to talk about. But seasonal temperatures are around the corner, and they will feel like a tropical breeze." __________________ <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" border="1" bgcolor="#008000"><tr><td><font size=3>Gone</font></td></tr></table>

01-23-2003, 12:52 AM	#4
Aly-Python Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: West Hollywood Posts: 1,439	I moved from Toronto to San Diego a year ago... I'm smiling quite broadly right now! __________________ SIG TOO BIG! Maximum 120x60 button and no more than 3 text lines of DEFAULT SIZE and COLOR. Unless your sig is for a GFY top banner sponsor, then you may use a 624x80 instead of a 120x60.

01-23-2003, 09:15 AM	#7
CDSmith Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: May 2001 Location: My network is hosted at TECHIEMEDIA.net ...Wait, you meant where am I located at? Oh... okay, I'm in Winnipeg, Canada. Oops. :) Posts: 51,460	-42 here overnight with the windchill. I think that article is right... Some Canadians are forgetting ourselves and our past winters. I heard on the news that primary schools are cancelling recess..... RECESS, which was my favorite time of the schoolday for crap sakes! They NEVER cancelled recess when I was a kid. Out we'd go to the snow-covered soccer field all bundled up in our snowmobile suits and mitts and bela-clava's, and we'd damn well kick that ball around for 20 minutes or die trying. Cancelling recess. Jeebus H Chranst, that's sacrilege. __________________ *Promote Wildmatch, ImLive, Sexier.com, and more!!* ALWAYS THE HIGHEST PAYOUTS: Big Bux/ImLive SIGNUP ON NOW!!! Put some PUSSYCA$H in your pocket. ICQ me at: 31024634

01-22-2003, 11:50 PM	#2
iwantchixx Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: The Boonies Posts: 12,860	We got too used to the unusual warm weather the past 10 years, then all of a suden, BAMM a cold snap. Doesn't stop me though, I grew up in a town that considered -30 to be mild for winter,

01-23-2003, 12:39 AM	#3
FlyingIguana aspiring banker Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: toronto Posts: 10,870	its like -44 with wind chill in alberta right now. i'm sorry but anything past -20 is fucking cold. even if you live in an igloo.