Jim Murray

4 years ago · 2 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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Everybody Talks About The Weather…Myself Included

Everybody Talks About The Weather…Myself Included

Di From
he Quick Side
Of The Lake

As is our good fortune down here on the Quiet Side of the Lake, the winter storm that passed through over the past day and a half left us with very little except a small lake at the far end of the back yard and a water level in my pool that is approaching the point where we will have to call Rob The Pool Guy to come and pump it out.

And that’s about it. The rest of the province, I’m sad to say, did not fare so well. As I looked at the weather radar I could see a wide band of freezing rain, and an even wider band of snow to the north and moving slowly but surely towards Quebec.

I’m not saying that the decision to move down here to the Niagara Peninsula was affected by the fact that this area does more than its share of weather bullet dodging, but it most assuredly has turned into a rather significant plus.

The bulk of our nasty weather here either comes up the Ohio Valley from down in the Gulf Of Mexico where it forms, or across the US from the Rockies, which is known as the Colorado Low.

These systems both sweep across the lower Great Lakes and pick up enough moisture off Lake Erie to our south to dump tons of snow on many places in upstate New York and, of course good old Fort Erie where I come from.

Or they cut across Lake Ontario to our north and come ashore just west of Toronto and roll through on their way to La Belle Provence.

This is the beginning of our 4th winter here in St Catharines and the number of times I have needed to use my snow blower in the winter is in the mid to high single digits.

VCs

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It feels like this area is positioned right smack in the small corridor between the normal tracks of the two major weather systems that roll through here, and for that reason we appear to be spared a good deal of the ‘snow anguish’ that we used to get in Toronto. And the insane amounts of snow I used to see, but didn’t have to deal with directly, when I lived in Ottawa.

Frequency of storms aside, this is one thing about the changing climate that very much appears to have not changed. And I can’t say I am unhappy about that. In fact, when I watch the weather and see many parts of my province getting bombed with freakish amounts of rain, snow and ice, I kind of feel a bit smug about deciding to move here in the first place, despite the fact that weather was never really a consideration.

But a little self-delusion is good for the soul, or so they say.

Anyway, the temperature has dropped, and the light steady rain which plagued us for the last two days has moved on, replaced by a light coating of snow on the ground. The wind has picked up considerably in the slipstream of this storm, creating a pretty substantial wind chill. And, this afternoon the sun is actually supposed to make an appearance.

Not necessarily the best conditions for a casual stroll to the supermarket, but I’ll do it anyway. It’s not exactly what you would call ‘braving the elements’, but we take what we can get here on the Quiet Side Of The Lake.


25ed120b.jpgJim Murray is an experienced op/ed, business and entertainment review blogger, copywriter and art director. He has run his own creative consulting business since 1989 after a 20 year career major Canadian & international advertising agencies in Toronto. He now lives with his wife Heather on the beautiful Niagara Peninsula and creates communications for businesses working to make a positive difference in the world.

You can follow Jim:

On beBee: https://www.bebee.com/bee/jim-murray

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-murray-b8a3a4/

On Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/y97gxro4

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Comments

Ken Boddie

4 years ago #3

#3
It went ‘live to air’ here, Jim, as “Doctor Doctor”, starring Rodger Corser as Hugh Knight and Haley McElhinney as Penny. Pretty typical of our rolling rural near coastal hinterland, but I believe the on location scenes were shot in Mudgee, NSW. Pretty typical Aussie banter and humour. Glad you’re enjoying it. 👍

Jim Murray

4 years ago #2

#2
You win hands down Ken. I hear you are getting a little rain now so all the firefighters can be more effective. It's a terrible think. I have been watching a Tv series called The Heart Guy, which is set, I believe, in South Queensland. The land looks quite beautiful.

Ken Boddie

4 years ago #1

I'll see your crappy weather, Jim, and raise you 7 years of drought. I'll even throw in a handful of bushfires to keep the pot warm. Don't let the stakes get too high though, cause climate change is holding all the aces. ♥️♣️♦️♠️

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