Hello folks,

It's been 10 days or so since i posted, hate using puns but i guess when i say i was 'snowed under' last week you may forgive me, with work of course. We still have over a foot of lying snow in Dundas, the past week or so temps have remained for the most part well below 0c and the odd really cold day and night like last where we saw -23.4c at the airport. This was the 11th below -20c temp of this winter and only short of a 1955 record for the date.

Snow is once again in the forecast for tonight and EC have a special statement out calling for 5-10cm widely across the Lakeshore area. TWN going for slightly higher totals of 10-12cm especially on the shore of Ontario. This for now, will bring to an end a remarkable spell of weather since the first week of January when Jiries was over and that mini-thaw took place. It's been snowcover and storm after storm since late January, a remarkable spell indeed, one for the history books this winter for Southern Ontario.

It brings to an end as this milder air that Graeme posted on makes it's way in. Initially was progged for very mild and flooding would have been a concern but now we have values after Wed of +2c to +5c, so a thaw but it will take alot of rain, of which only showers are forecast and milder conditions still to break the snowpack and the icepack on the Lakes. 

Into the weekend, colder air returns although nothing out of the ordinary compared to what we've had.

Seen an article this morning claiming that this has been the snowiest winter in history in Chicago! If that's true, it truely amplifies the magnitude of this amazing winter.

Take Care

This was Lake Erie (Snowcovered and totally frozen) and Lake Ontario (less so) taken last Thursday Brilliant pic i thought

http://modeles.meteociel.fr/modeles/gfs/runs/2014021800/gfsnh-1-228.png?0

The cold in the US has been excellent this Winter

Happy Friday folks, 

The thaw is well and truely on for Southern Ontario after a wild 24hrs of weather which will go on for the next 12hrs or so before colder air freezes everything again. Current temp +3c, with winds gusting to 90kph for which EC have a wind warning out for Hamilton this afternoon. Yesterday's forecasted 40mm of rain became a very poor forecast certainly for these parts as when the frontal storm approached it started as SNOW not RAIN!  Amusement rains (sorry for the pun) at TWN and EC on that one, we got a quick 8cm of snow before it did turn mild enough for rain and in the end only 13mm of the stuff we've not seen much of this winter fell!

Everywhere is soaked though today, run off flooding causing concerns and the snow that remains looks very muddy and poor. This thaw in some ways would be good if it lasted into and thru the weekend but it won't as temps drop and below 0c values are forecast right through next week with some forecasts taking Hamilton back into the freezer by mid-week.

In the states, the same storm system spawned Tornadoes across the Mid-West and even the Atlantic Seaboard. At one stage D.C. was under a Tornado watch. All of NYC's snow has gone for now. Photo of the week i saw came from a stormchaser in IL who captured and EF1 touchdown into snowy fields...complete nuts.

Have a great weekend everyone 

Well this is incredible..... -20 uppers as far south as Tennessee  -30 uppers around the Great Lakes and Michigan. 

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/Rnamavn1262.png

No end in sight for places like Chicago - brutally cold lasting into March, temps well below average, been a long harsh Winter.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/MT8_Chicago_USA_ens.png

This must be one of the coldest winters in Central, N and E USA ever recorded...and the cold keeps on coming!

What odds on somewhere else in the N hemisphere getting one of their coldest ever winters in winter 2014/15...namely, the UK??!   As has been said, stuck jetstream for prolonged periods = anomalous cold in one place = anomalous warmth in another place etc etc.

Into March and the cold literally marches into the deep south, frost as far south as Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi.

Inland places in the NE and upper Midwest widely between -15C to -28C  the bitter Winter carries on into Spring

http://expert-images.weatheronline.co.uk/daten/proficharts/en/2014/02/22/basis18/namk/tmp2/14030212_2_2218.gif

That is incredible , they have had prolonged cold , an excellent winter for sure...........................our time will come

Must be a truly amazing experience living in Northern Minnesota at the moment......here is todays and thurs forecast lifted from the NOAA site for Falls International Airport.....

• Today   A 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly between 11am and 4pm. Partly sunny and cold, with a high near 4. Wind chill values between -25 and -35. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.




• Tonight   Partly cloudy, with a low around -29. Wind chill values between -40 and -50. Northwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph




• Thursday   Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -6. Wind chill values between -40 and -50. West wind 5 to 10 mph.




• Thursday Night  Mostly cloudy, with a low around -24. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening

Between Thursday and Sunday Los Angeles is likely to experience the most rain they have seen in a whole year.

That is one big rain spike!

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/MT8_Los_Angeles_USA_ens.png

San Francisco looking wet too

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/MT8_San_Francisco_USA_ens.png

Hey folks,

Yes the western coasts of the states finally get some rain over the next few days, over a foot of snow also forecast for the cascades which eventually will feed down to lower levels as it melts, this eases the drought situation nicely.

For most of mainland states, the story is polar vortex and the depth and southern push of the cold air. For late Feb this is pretty remarkable. And here in Southern Ontario we conclude the calender winter the same as we started it, very cold and snow on the ground. -13c this afternoon, w/c of -17c, possibility of -15c in heavy flurries tomorrow afternoon and -27 w/c, that could be brutal. Outlook into March is for the cold to hang around, maybe moderating somewhat.

Historical winter for the Golden Horseshoe!

Take Care

Hi Stewart,

And there I was watching the first game of Spring Training earlier: Phillies/Blue Jays played out in a blissful sounding 76f in Clearwater, Florida. A new season is almost upon us!

Back to the weather and yes another shot of brutally cold air into the Great Lakes. Tomorrow night may even end up the coldest of the winter for some in southern Ontario!

Some rain has arrived in Los Angeles, this sets up a wet 48-62 hours especially from tonight through Sunday.

http://classic.wunderground.com/webcams/cadot1/414/show.html

Hope you're enjoying your trip, Tally.

Well, with meteorological winter over we can start looking at how this winter rates in terms of cold. Looks like the coldest in 20 years for Toronto (since the brutal winter of 93/94). Toronto Pearson has also broken a record for consecutive days with snow on the ground (82 and counting). For Winnipeg it's the coldest in 35 years, with all three winter months featuring mean temperatures of -20c.

Unfortunately the advent of March isn't bringing much relief as Brett posts: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/anderson/so-much-for-the-start-of-meteorological-spring/23863497

Lows in the Canadian Prairies tonight will be in the -30c to -40c rand with windchills into the -50s celsius.

Currently -30c in Calgary so Peter may see his coldest night of the year.

And another snowstorm, this time trundling through the midwest and into the NE States where New York and Boston will see more snow to close out the weekend.

There will be a lot of Canadians and Americans willing on the onset of Spring!

Another deep plunge of bitterly cold air for the mid west/east and even south parts of USA. Temps below -10C as far south as Arkansas and Tennessee. Been lots of brutal cold since December - Incredible how it's carried on and on into March.

http://expert-images.weatheronline.co.uk/daten/proficharts/en/2014/03/01/basis18/namk/tmp2/14030409_2_0118.gif

How do you know it's the first day of spring in Calgary.. When it hits -30...

http://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-52_metric_e.html

Yesterday's max temps in Alberta and the Prairies were crazily cold:

Edmonton -22c
Calgary -25c
Saskatoon -25c
Regina -27c
Winnipeg -26c

Min temps were generally in the -30c to -40c range and that's before you add in windchill. Many of these readings are 20c below average for March 1st!

Farther east, after a relatively balmy day yesterday with highs around -2c, it's turning colder in southern Ontario. Currently -14c and snowing in Hamilton. Should be at least 5cm on the ground by daybreak.

Hey folks,

Tally, send some warmth NorthEast please! This winter now spring is definately one for the books, as Graeme reported on some of the stats from the winter around here, today's bonechilling -21c start was at laest unofficially the 15th time of a -20c temp recorded in Dundas this winter, thats outrageous really, more Yellowknife cold than Ontario. Its 'warmed' up to -15c this afternoon with a cold wind meaning the higher latitude sun is making little or no difference. 

This week the cold moderates slightly but the initial indications over the past weekend of warmer air by next seem for now to have passed and EC still going for flurries and -2c come Friday. When all this goes and it will, the damage to the road infrastructure will be immense around here. I must say, i've kind of had enough now, the same cold routine is starting to take it toll on a few around here. Think alot of people will be enjoying this summer more than they ever did before!

How's Scotland Graeme? Jays training is one thing to think that proper spring ain't far away. Must say was watching the Honda Classic golf from Palm Beach yesterday and could just do a spring break moment and head on south!

Take Care