Is Canada's W*I*N*T*E*R back???

You don't have the Olympics in the the U.S., Soferdig? %-)

Yes but when we do so poorly in Hockey they don't exist. I can't get too excited when our top athletes are pot heads and movie star's favorite play things.

Sad...

you are a cantanerous sort sometimes. sofer, bless your heart.
Elvis is not a hockey player. Pay attention.

I am paying attention but those of us who love hockey nothing in the olympics means anything if we do so poorly. Especially men? who figure skate in tight pants and fluffffy shirts.

Loud loud kackling happening here

wiping tears from my eyes!!!

Well really what kind of guy/gal chooses to spend his/her entire puberty in ice scates . Certainly I chose other more interesting career moves. Chasing my girlfriend, racing motorcycles, repairing cars, drinking beer, and most importantly having a adolecence with fun.

This message was edited Mar 11, 2006 11:29 PM

This message was edited Mar 11, 2006 11:34 PM

LOL......Imma betting he can skate circles around your hockey players!

This message was edited Mar 12, 2006 12:49 AM

An article to end our winter with........

Canada Weather Woes Likely to Continue in 2006
By Joan Delaney
Epoch Times Victoria Staff
Jan 05, 2006

In this picture taken in June 2005 a young girl tests out the waters in the flooded Prince's Island Park near downtown Calgary. Successive storms in summer of 2005 caused 14 Alberta municipalities to declare states of emergency.(Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

From a melting arctic to the most active hurricane season on record, 2005 was a banner year for setting weather records around the world.

Globally, it was the second warmest year on record in 145 years, with weather-related disasters totalling $200 billion, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Floods wreaked havoc in Eastern Europe while the south was scorched with searing heat which sparked numerous wildfires. There was a record drought in south-eastern Australia, and the Amazon rainforest experienced its driest year in decades. Droughts plagued the north of China in contrast with the south which was flooded with weeks of torrential rain. India and Pakistan saw record high temperatures and heavy monsoons, and a record-breaking 27 Atlantic storms were named (tropical storm Zeta became the 27th this week), blowing away the previous record of 21 named storms set in 1993.

And to top it all off, Environment Canada says 2005 saw a record shrinkage of ice on the Arctic Sea "with possible disappearance in sight."

Victoria radio meteorologist Blane Coulcher says that according to his calculations and that of other atmospheric scientists, all indications point to another severe hurricane season south of the border this year.

"There is no El Nino this year, and we have neutral conditions in the tropical Pacific. Because of this neutral state, the coming hurricane season, which could very well affect the Maritimes, will be as bad as last year. When we're in neutral conditions between El Nino and La Nina the hurricane season seems to go crazy."

Coulcher says these neutral conditions contribute to further warming of the Gulf of Mexico, which in turn will result in more hurricanes. He adds that there's a definite possibility of another Katrina-sized hurricane, but believes it may be more likely to strike the Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle next time.

"The Gulf Coast has had massive growth, especially in the north western part of the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Panhandle. One of these days, that could be a target as well…It's going to be another bad one coming up."

Canada experienced its wettest year on record, with heavy rain from coast to coast, the severest being in Alberta where successive storms created a deluge which forced residents in some areas to evacuate their homes and contributed to the deaths of four people. One in ten Calgary homes reported flood damages, and 14 Alberta municipalities declared states of emergency. With damages expected to top $400 million, the flooding is the costliest natural disaster in Alberta's history.

The same storms that drenched Alberta then rolled on to Manitoba, and the flooding that ensued caused 22 municipalities to declare states of emergency.

Atlantic Canada was blanketed with a year's worth of snow in a week, Toronto had its hottest summer ever resulting in at least six deaths, and snow was a no-show in British Columbia because of record high temperatures in January, February and March.

The record for the wildest weather swings all on the same day occurred in Ontario on November 9: Ottawa was hit with freezing rain, temperatures reached a warm 20C in Windsor, it snowed in Barrie, and Hamilton was struck with a rare 10-minute tornado with winds reaching 180 km/hr.

Coulcher, who believes global warming is the result of a natural change in climatic patterns and not caused by pollution, predicts another hot and humid summer in Ontario and more flooding in the Prairies, though not on the scale of last year. But he says there's no sign of any real break from the weather extremes that seem to be getting more pronounced in recent years.

"We are going to be in for more severe weather. These wild fluctuations in weather will continue for the foreseeable future,"

Already, 2006 is shaping up to be another year of unusual weather. The Northwest Territories, where winter weather is usually around -25C, has been unseasonably warm in recent weeks, with the temperature on New Years day reaching -3C on New Years day in Yellowknife. Although residents are enjoying the change, brought by warm pacific winds, the weather posses challenges in constructing ice roads and is disturbing local wildlife.

In British Columbia, warm pacific air has also pushed temperatures to unusual heights, causing loses to some ski resorts.

No doubt we'll see more strange weather in the future. It could be that it's not only global warming due to mankind's acts but that the earth is also going through another of the millions of changes it has gone through over the millenniums.

Joan

Living in montana I prefer global warming to global Ice age. We will soon be in zone 6 and then those Vancouver Islanders will be green with envy when we can grow Japanese Maples and redwoods while their gardens are under ocean water. HeeHee PS it has been global warming on and off for 10,000 years.

This message was edited Mar 16, 2006 9:45 PM

I think you're right Joan......I personally think man is just hurrying the process along.


This message was edited Mar 16, 2006 8:54 PM