Ottawa Blizzard

Anthony Farnell saying possibility of 40-60 cm (2 feet) total by end of day Friday, when you take into account both storms. Amazing for Toronto, if it happens.

Cautiously optimistic that this might be among the more interesting weeks of weather of the past decade for us here in Toronto, snow-wise.

Thinking maybe 8-10" for Toronto?

8-10" for Toronto perhaps?

I'm hoping Toronto can make it down to -18 C (0F) or -20C (-4F) at least once over the next couple of weeks.

yes, I'm pleasantly surprised. Just a few days ago, this looked like a miss for us. I'm going with 4" for my backyard.

It's looking a bit better for Toronto - dare I hope for 2"?

It seems most of the cold air is over Eurasia at the moment. Have you seen the forecasts for Moscow and Saint Petersburg? They appear to be having their coldest January in a few years. Even Ireland has been cold, relative to what they're used to.

Thinking January is a write-off in my neck of the woods, as well, although we at least have a light snowpack on the ground, so it looks like winter , even if it doesn't feel much like it.

I'm in the "I'll believe it when I see it" camp. At the moment, the forecasts I'm seeing for Toronto only show us having daytime highs of minus 2 Celsius, or about 30F for the 20th-24th timeframe, which is pretty much average for this time of year and nothing spectacular. This could be on track to be among the warmest winters of the past 40 years around here. I suppose, given the ongoing pandemic, that might be somewhat of a blessing, but it would have been fun to track some wild temperature swings and big storms. Meanwhile, has anyone seen the weather over much of Eurasia? Moscow and Saint Petersburg may be seeing highs below zero Fahrenheit over the next couple of weeks, a stunning contrast to the non-winter they had last year. Northern China and the Korean peninsula have been much colder than average, as well.

Toronto got 17" out of that January 2-3, 1999 storm.

Ironically, Toronto might see a white Christmas while Ottawa and Montreal see a green Christmas!

It's not looking too good for Toronto at the moment.

Interesting that was quite a good year for Toronto and points east. Ottawa got hit hard in November and December 1995, especially.

Sounds like 2009-2010 in Toronto

Ontario recorded around 2500 new cases today, over 700 in Toronto alone. They are now considering even stricter restrictions in the city.

I wonder when international travel will be permitted again? Canada's border - land border, that is, - has been closed since mid March. 14 day quarantine for anyone arriving in the country (except truckers). I'm thinking restrictions may be lifted by July, but only if this vaccine has the desired effect.

Wow, December 16th, 2007 is one of the analogs? I was living it Ottawa at the time, and that storm dropped 17". Among the most amazing storms I've ever lived through.

When do you see people actually being able to pack sports stadiums? I have my doubts for the 2021 NHL/MLB seasons.

Not to make light of a serious situation, but you have to wonder, if they will end up calling this mutation COVID-20?

Interesting post. While I believe the vaccine is excellent news, I also think people need to get their heads around the fact that complete eradication of this virus is likely not going to happen.

That is just insane. We had close to 2000 cases in Ontario today, out of a population of 14 million.

Interesting. 1933-34 was apparently a huge winter for Ontario, New York State, and Quebec.

David Ludlum's books are awesome. Hard to find, though. I ordered both volumes of Early American Winters a few years back. Pricey, but worth every penny. I go back to them year after year.

Has anyone here read the book "So Cold a Sky - Upper Michigan weather stories"? I ordered it through ABE Books earlier this year, and it's great, giving all kinds of historical details and maps of past winters. Apparently there was a streak of mild winters in the Midwest and Great Lakes in the mid to late 1820s.