Prediction of a Perfect Storm.

On January 6th the National Post had an article on page 3 that predicted three storm systems would converge. One is named the *Arctic Express*, another the *Pineapple Express* and the third was unnamed but originated from the Gulf of Mexico. Now the article stated that somewhere over the American midwest those three storms would meet and it would be a once in a lifetime storm. I noticed that our weather channel is now saying that the cold front we've been having and the system that originated in the Gulf of Mexico will be meeting over the Great Lakes area.....have you Easterner's packed your bags yet?

Here's the actual article that the U.S. Prediction Center released: http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/10567395.htm

This message was edited Jan 12, 2005 5:58 PM

Yikes.....thanks for the heads-up, Pam. I wonder if the band of thunderstorms that crossed the eastern half of the continent Wednesday night was part of this?

Probably do you know if it was the system that went along the Eastern coast of the States?

Has the arctic front got close to you yet? I haven't heard/seen anything about the weather today.

I'm not sure where the front is; it sure cooled off in a hurry today, so maybe it's here. All the snow that melted yesterday is solid ice now; it's like a skating rink outside. The nice berm that the snowplow left in front of our garage yesterday covered in ice too...the snow shovel just bounced right off it. I'm going to take a few whacks at it with our ice chipper tomorrow and see how that goes. Fun stuff! :-) Oh well....as someone said at work today, when we were discussing the sorry state of our ancient office building, "at least we have toilets that work"! :-) Kind of puts it in perspective.

Yep perspective does help.....so will a good heating system if the temps we've been having make it to you. They are showing we will be +6C within a couple of days (if they are right.....they've been promising us that for a week or two now). All I know is if it turns nice here the East seems do go downhill very quickly. You have my sincere condolences.....I wouldn't wish this cold on anyone!

BC it looks like you people will be very unhappy this weekend......hope all of you bought your groceries already and plan to sit around home and hearth for a day or two. My sincere condolences to those who will be travelling!

When is spring???

In my part of God's Country BC, we are lookin pretty good:

This is our last cold day, thankgoodness.............from here on in...warm and rain...now watch those bulbas pop ;up! I potted my bulbs up in clay pots in the greenhouse...when they're done..I'll then plunk them into the garden....

I agree with you Elaine. Thank good ness the warmth will be back by tomorrow. We still have a frozen yard, like a skating rink. I already had lots of daffodils and crocus poking thorugh, wonder how they will make out??

Glenda

It just started snowing here within the last hour so I think it'll be a little while before that warmth they're promising is going to get here.

Sandy, we've had a bit of snow, it's white outside again, but it's like ice clumps, it's really slick outside, almost like freezing rain. In a day or 2, we'll be back to +9 and rain, normal winter for us.

Ooh, ice clumps. That doesn't sound very nice. I hope you're not going out anywhere. It sounds like a good night to stay at home and watch a movie. I'll be quite happy to be back to +9 though I must admit I'll miss the sun. When the sun shines it gets to be around 30 degrees in the solarium. It feels quite tropical what with all the orchids, the plumeria and of course the brugs. LOL

We got about 2" snow, and now I think it's melting already. Just went for a short walk with our dog, it's sticky snow, and beautiful out. I imagine it'll be colse to all gone by morning.

Brrrr!! I just went out and checked. We've got an inch and a half or so but it's still coming down. It's 0 degrees so the flakes are really small. It's really dry snow...not like the wet stuff it sounds like you got Linda. I hope we don't make up for what we didn't get last weekend....especially in your neck of the woods Glenda.

I can't believe the weather you guys are having....what's up with that?!? Hope it ends soon for everyone's sake; besides, the rest of us need to believe there's a warm place somewhere in the country, to keep us going. :-) Wonder how the wild animals in the region are dealing with it? That ice can be especially difficult; hope you're all able to take it easy this weekend.

Shannon

It must have started raining sometime in the night because we only got between 2-3 inches. It's raining slightly now and the snow is wet and slushy. It's only 1 degree though so it's not going to melt too fast. What's happening in Victoria?

Looks like Todd's area will be getting the rain that was heading up the Eastern part of the States and it will meet with the arctic front.........they are in for one heck of a blizzard!

I think we probably had more than snow than in Victoria. Looking out, there must have been 3 or 4 inches. I know hubby says we need to shovel the top of the driveway before we take a vehicle out. It's starting to melt, and the ice under the snow feels softer. Bring on the rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glenda

From our experience here in ice-central, sometimes our traction is better if there's some snow left on top of the ice. But local conditions are different everywhere, of course, and now that I think about it you probably don't have snow-tires on (duh, Shannon!), so maybe scraping to the asphalt is the best. Well either way, good luck, Glenda! I'm sending ((warm rain-vibes)) your way :-)

Shannon

Thanks Shannon. Our driveway is actually a base of gravel, so once the ice has melted a bit it will be fine. I dont' mind the snow at all, but the ice is a different story. We have anti lock brakes and traction control ont he car, so haven't had a problem so far.
Nope, no snow tires!!! Why would we ever think we would need snow tires??? Seriously, it seems as though this is starting to happen more often, usually at least once a year for the last few years. But we are never prepared for it.
Oh well, lots of melting happening as we speak.

Glenda

Gravel - that's good. I'm relieved!

Well, if the driving habits around here are any indication, even if you had ice all winter long every winter, there would still be lots of people around you who were driving like they'd never seen it before. And it can be quite alarming, even for those who are supposedly used to it, the first time every winter when you press on the brakes & the car doesn't stop...yikes!! There've been a few days already this month when the rural school boards around here have cancelled their school bus service because of the ice. Some days it just doesn't pay to leave the house, even with snow tires.

Glenda, I'm glad it wasn't too bad for you.

It was snow on top of ice here this morning when I was out with the dog. I think I scared the bejeezes out of her when I fell right behind her, stopped her in mid business! Then I fell again on the frozen lawn. It's melting now, finally. I'm not hurt, just achey which I'm sure will be gone in a few days. I'll be glad for the mild weather, but of course then I'll be complaining that it's raining all the time and we don't get sun.

Linda

LInda, yes we will all be glad for the mild weather, and it sounds like we are in for a lot of rain this week.. I think it will still take quite awhile to get rid of this mess we have.
Hope you didn't hurt yourself when you fell!!! Tomorrow morning will be the time to measure that. Hubby here fell the other day, luckily hurt nothing and was fine the next day.
Cheer up!!! The sun will be back before we know it!!

Glenda

Hope you're ok, Linda! I hate ice - it's such a shock when you fall; usually flat on your back before you even know what happened. Even when you don't fall, you can't walk with a proper stride - always taking little flat-foot steps.

I should've clarified the recommendation about snow on top of ice...it can be good, if it's packed down (eg. with a car or lots & lots of foot traffic). If not, it can just hide the ice....looks all fluffy & harmless until your boots are in the air. Only 3 more months....sigh....

Linda *ouch*......stay inside. Open the door and let the dog out alone or at least follow what Shannon suggested. I heard the stores in Victoria ran out of "ice be gone" sounds like they weren't prepared either. When the kids deliver flyers (on the hill) and it rains/freezes here we'd wait a day or two until either it melted or people had a chance to put something to lessen the chance of falling on it.

Oww, Linda, glad you're OK. It isn't fun on that ice. I know, with DH and I trying to walk a couple times a day for fitness sake, this weather over that past few weeks has been horrible. But God has blessed us. Arctic air receding. Temps are rising starting tomorrow. We are supposed to be up to +10 by Thursday. Rainy, but I say< "Bring It On". Be gone cold icy conditions.