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Well, we're sorta half-snowy here in Calgary, but I guess Ottawa's having a green Christmas. Weird. I don't think I've ever had one. Hm. Wonder how I could look that up.
As the rest of Canada turns green with envy, Western Canadians are set to celebrate another white Christmas this year.
"You've been blessed," says Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips. "I know there's a lot of people who are wishing they could be westerners right now."
That's because, for the most part, the rest of Canada lost what little snow they had over the last few weeks, due to a combination of record-high temperatures and severe rain storms.
"Basically, about 80 per cent of Canadians have little chance of a white Christmas, because if they don't have snow already, there won't see any until at least boxing day," Phillips said.
Places like Quebec City and Thunder Bay, Ont., that are usually buried in snow during the holidays, will finally see, for the first time in history, a green Christmas, he said.
So will most of British Columbia, Central Canada and the Atlantic provinces.
In fact, the chances of a white Christmas get smaller each year when compared to how many we used to get in the 1970s.
In Montreal, which used to have a white Christmas four out of five years (80 per cent of the time), now gets snow only two out of three years (65 per cent), he said.
"When parents today were kids, they didn't have to dream as much about a white Christmas because it was almost guaranteed," Phillips said.
In a comparison of the snow depths of white Christmases between 1966 to 1980 and 1991 to 2005, the levels of accumulation have dropped in almost every case.
The snow depth in Timmins, Ont., on Christmas Day used to be around 50 centimetres, while it averaged only 31.4 cm over the last 15 years.
"This is still a country of ice and snow," Phillips said, "but Canada is clearly warming up."
Average snow depths dropped by 18.3 cm in Fredericton, 13.5 cm in Whitehorse, 11.5 cm in Montreal, and 9.5 cm in Edmonton.
"The seasons certainly do seem to be shorter, with not nearly as much snow, so enjoy it while you can."
Well, we're sorta half-snowy here in Calgary, but I guess Ottawa's having a green Christmas. Weird. I don't think I've ever had one. Hm. Wonder how I could look that up.
As the rest of Canada turns green with envy, Western Canadians are set to celebrate another white Christmas this year.
"You've been blessed," says Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips. "I know there's a lot of people who are wishing they could be westerners right now."
That's because, for the most part, the rest of Canada lost what little snow they had over the last few weeks, due to a combination of record-high temperatures and severe rain storms.
"Basically, about 80 per cent of Canadians have little chance of a white Christmas, because if they don't have snow already, there won't see any until at least boxing day," Phillips said.
Places like Quebec City and Thunder Bay, Ont., that are usually buried in snow during the holidays, will finally see, for the first time in history, a green Christmas, he said.
So will most of British Columbia, Central Canada and the Atlantic provinces.
In fact, the chances of a white Christmas get smaller each year when compared to how many we used to get in the 1970s.
In Montreal, which used to have a white Christmas four out of five years (80 per cent of the time), now gets snow only two out of three years (65 per cent), he said.
"When parents today were kids, they didn't have to dream as much about a white Christmas because it was almost guaranteed," Phillips said.
In a comparison of the snow depths of white Christmases between 1966 to 1980 and 1991 to 2005, the levels of accumulation have dropped in almost every case.
The snow depth in Timmins, Ont., on Christmas Day used to be around 50 centimetres, while it averaged only 31.4 cm over the last 15 years.
"This is still a country of ice and snow," Phillips said, "but Canada is clearly warming up."
Average snow depths dropped by 18.3 cm in Fredericton, 13.5 cm in Whitehorse, 11.5 cm in Montreal, and 9.5 cm in Edmonton.
"The seasons certainly do seem to be shorter, with not nearly as much snow, so enjoy it while you can."
no subject
Date: 2006-12-29 03:57 pm (UTC)Sure, it's weird for Ottawa and Thunder Bay and Quebec City to not have snow, but all these news pieces stating that "Canada" is having a green Christmas are full of shit, and generally tend to piss off the large majority of Canada - you know, the parts that are NOT in Ontario (which, as we all know, is the "real" Canada, and the rest is just periferal land mass... well, except for BC, and Alberta on occassion [but only cuz of the money that exists in AB])
Personally, I'm enjoying snow, and not looking forward to my impending flight to ON, where I'll have to deal with sleet and freezing rain, most likely. Give me snow and cold any day over that crap!
~~
Glad you're having fun in Calgary, though - look forward to hearing more about your trip when you get back!
~Twinkle
no subject
Date: 2007-01-01 02:49 am (UTC)Yeah, I think they were, as usual, referring to Canada in population terms ("...about 80 per cent of Canadians have little chance of a white Christmas") but it's still good to be reminded every so often that not everyone lives in Ontario/Quebec/BC ;)