Winter in Ontario

CN Railway Bridge
December 19, 2009

I love road trips because photo opportunities abound! See all that white stuff in the picture? Well the good news is when this picture was taken we still hadn't seen any snow accumulation in our area. Winter road trips bring on a whole new meaning with respect to travel. You can leave home where it is sunny, bright and dry then drive into blizzard like conditions. Outside of southern Ontario you are almost guaranteed to run into snowy conditions although there will be times when it isn't actually snowing out. Rather road conditions can deteriorate rapidly due to wind conditions. Other times it will be dry but cold allowing you to enjoy the winter wonderland along your journey. In southern Ontario there is a snow belt where snow fall tends to be heavier than the rest of the southern region. Quite often the snow belt will be getting heavy snowfall while the rest of southern Ontario is getting nothing. This belt is also the same path that heavy storms and tornados take. Adding to the winter weather fun in southern Ontario is lake effect snow. The lake effect snow originates off the Great Lakes and can range from light to heavy squalls often affecting visibility. Lake effect snow is very dependent on the air currents so if the winds are from the north the lake effect snow will be coming off of Lake Huron. If the winds are from the south the lake effect snow will come off of Lakes Ontario and Erie.

I really don't mind the snow although I'm not fond of the bitter cold when it hits. I actually prefer the cold to the heat in that it is easier to more clothes on to warm up where taking too many clothes off trying to cool down may get me into a bit of trouble. I love taking a nightime walk in the snow when the sky is clear, the stars are twinkling and the snow crunches when walked on. I also love newly fallen snow that blankets the yard making everything look pristine. I don't like driving or shopping in cold snowy weather so am quite content to watch the snow from the comforts of a cozy fire.

Garden Gnome
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