Our weather is often a topic of discussion around here. On Friday, the news reported the approach of a storm and recommended staying at home on Sunday when it was due to strike. What really surprised me was the further recommendation to stock up on food! I haven’t heard anything like that in a very long time. The announcer continued, explaining the coming storm is expected to be the worst we’ve seen in ten years. Okay, the recommendations make more sense!
I get very annoyed at weather forecasters because they often claim far worse weather than actually arrives. I don’t want storms, but I like to have a good idea of what’s coming so I can prepare. The forecasters often let me down. So you can imagine my thoughts when I heard this forecast. The thing is, they sometimes do get it right, and it appears this is one of those times. They projected 20 cm of snow today and a further 10 to 15 cm over night.
According to the CBC, “Ottawa was hit with 31 centimetres of snowfall, surpassing its one-day record of 30 centimetres set in 1977.” The article goes further, saying we’ll have 40 centimetres by the time it ends. If Environment Canada has it right, the snow will end tomorrow in the early morning hours. I expect the morning commute to be a disaster, and I’ll likely leave later than normal to minimize my time in the car. The crawling commute after these storms are killing my fuel efficiency.
The image above was taken this afternoon just before 2 pm. The car being pushed is stuck, but it didn’t get stuck trying to leave. Rather, the person was trying to park in their spot and made it only half way in. They then found they couldn’t back out, either. Also note the depth of the snow on the cars behind them. Yes, much of it was blown into place, but there was a lot of snow for the wind to use as raw material!