Weather - Canada's favourite topic
And this should not be surprising. Given that it ranges from at least -40 to +40 in this country, weather is an important consideration.
Thunderstorms have been the topic of the last 24 hours. The accident at the airport was fortunately a piece of news to be digested and forgotten, rather than a human tragedy. The thunderstorms that caused it though were fantastic.
The thing about living here is its so hot and humid (i'll be reading this and weeping come winter!) that when it does storm, it comes down a treat. The weather forecasts are good too.
Yesterday for example, when they predicted storms, they warned people of 3 ways to avoid getting struck by lightening in the home - funny, i always thought you were safe! Silly me. Just in case you ever find yourself in a thunder storm at home, remember this:
1) Dont stare out of the window looking at it if your window frames have any metal in them. If the window is struck and you are within distance, you get struck too!
2) Dont go into the basement, which is presumably cellar. If the ground near your building gets struck, this could pass through the ground to you.
3) Dont use electrical appliances, in case the current passes through your electrical system...
Like a true muppet, i sat at my laptop staring at black skies out of the window yesterday afternoon. Luckily I was on 17th floor, so only pushing two thirds of my luck....
This weekend was a long weekend here - broadly there is one a month, and here in Toronto, there is a city event most weekends - this weekend was the 38th annual Caribana festival, where people from all over Toronto, North America and beyond celebrate the cultural heritage that the Carribean has brought to this part of Canada. This is the biggest individual event of the Toronto summer, bringing $300m into the local economy (thats 50 times the biggest error i have ever found in a set of accounts, but that is another matter!)
Everyone does something with their weekends here, whether it is a trip to the cottage, the local events, the Toronto islands. People get out and enjoy the weather. When I ask why, they look at me like I'm silly. 'Because its summer'. As if to emphasise the point, there is a commercial running on TV where a red leaf falls from the tree, as if signalling autumn, and the guy screams. The commentary - 'Summer wont last for ever'.
But the difference is what its like when its not summer. I've been told that 'when picking my first Canadian winter coat, there is no such thing as too thick'. Apparently in Winnipeg they come labelled 'good for -20, -40 etc'. Its just like the opposite of sun block. I'm also reliably informed that 'its never that bad in Toronto'. I can concur with that. The coldest recorded temperature in Toronto is apparently -31. Not that bad at all. Brrrrrrr.
Of course its colder up north and inland. Winnipeg is regularly colder, so i am told. In fact, according to one of the girls here, whose sister lives there, 'it gets so cold that if it drops to -44, the kids dont have to go to school'.
Something to remember on your cold winter walk to work this year!
Thunderstorms have been the topic of the last 24 hours. The accident at the airport was fortunately a piece of news to be digested and forgotten, rather than a human tragedy. The thunderstorms that caused it though were fantastic.
The thing about living here is its so hot and humid (i'll be reading this and weeping come winter!) that when it does storm, it comes down a treat. The weather forecasts are good too.
Yesterday for example, when they predicted storms, they warned people of 3 ways to avoid getting struck by lightening in the home - funny, i always thought you were safe! Silly me. Just in case you ever find yourself in a thunder storm at home, remember this:
1) Dont stare out of the window looking at it if your window frames have any metal in them. If the window is struck and you are within distance, you get struck too!
2) Dont go into the basement, which is presumably cellar. If the ground near your building gets struck, this could pass through the ground to you.
3) Dont use electrical appliances, in case the current passes through your electrical system...
Like a true muppet, i sat at my laptop staring at black skies out of the window yesterday afternoon. Luckily I was on 17th floor, so only pushing two thirds of my luck....
This weekend was a long weekend here - broadly there is one a month, and here in Toronto, there is a city event most weekends - this weekend was the 38th annual Caribana festival, where people from all over Toronto, North America and beyond celebrate the cultural heritage that the Carribean has brought to this part of Canada. This is the biggest individual event of the Toronto summer, bringing $300m into the local economy (thats 50 times the biggest error i have ever found in a set of accounts, but that is another matter!)
Everyone does something with their weekends here, whether it is a trip to the cottage, the local events, the Toronto islands. People get out and enjoy the weather. When I ask why, they look at me like I'm silly. 'Because its summer'. As if to emphasise the point, there is a commercial running on TV where a red leaf falls from the tree, as if signalling autumn, and the guy screams. The commentary - 'Summer wont last for ever'.
But the difference is what its like when its not summer. I've been told that 'when picking my first Canadian winter coat, there is no such thing as too thick'. Apparently in Winnipeg they come labelled 'good for -20, -40 etc'. Its just like the opposite of sun block. I'm also reliably informed that 'its never that bad in Toronto'. I can concur with that. The coldest recorded temperature in Toronto is apparently -31. Not that bad at all. Brrrrrrr.
Of course its colder up north and inland. Winnipeg is regularly colder, so i am told. In fact, according to one of the girls here, whose sister lives there, 'it gets so cold that if it drops to -44, the kids dont have to go to school'.
Something to remember on your cold winter walk to work this year!
posted by CBC at 3:20 pm
3 Comments:
Exactly...
Don't go to Winnipeg unless you wanna freeze your ass off!
I wish I was somewhere good!
i think 'anonymous' may well be a 20 something guitar playing peugeot driving beer swilling skinhead Spurs fan. Not quite your type Mr not anonymous!
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