There's a saying in Southern Ontario: if you don't like the weather at your front door, look out your back door instead.
Recently this saying has become more and more apt. So far in 2013 we've had days of +14C, and days of -20C. In fact, those two temperatures happened within a week or so of each other. There's been ice, snow, rain, and lots of sun.
Friday we saw a foot of snow in under 24 hours. Everything shut down Friday as stories of cars in ditches and snow ploughs getting stuck circulated on Twitter.1
Canadians are usually a hardy bunch when it comes to winter weather. We may not always like it, but we can lace up our boots, hitch up our scarves, and continue on with life as normal. This is a bit more complicated when we can't figure out if we should even be wearing boots.
Fortunately we have another saying: "Layer. Layer. Layer." If in doubt, wear three shirts and two pairs of socks, and remove some if necessary throughout the day. Or, conversely, pack some extra clothing if the temperature will be doing that crazy drop like a rock as the day passes routine. It may not be the most attractive or practical option, but it's way better than spending a week in bed with pneumonia.
Tomorrow morning some of that foot of snow will melt as we see rain in the morning. We will then see flurries in the afternoon, if the meteorologists are right.
If you don't like the weather on one side of the house, feel free to check the other. At some point, you may actually catch a glimpse of something that you've had the good luck to be dressed for.
1 Also, photos of Tauntons and At-Ats superimposed on snowy images of Toronto. If life hands us a crazy massive snow dump, Canadians will make Hoth jokes like there's no tomorrow.2
2 This level of snow is known in some circles as "Snowmaggedon", and in others as "winter".
I don't miss those winters. We don't have the extremes here in NZ, but the weather is pretty crazily changeable. Never mind four seasons in one day. We get four seasons in one hour. NZ is the only place I've had to drive with lights, sunglasses, and wipers on all at the same time.
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