Jan 04 in Lamont

[bj]

         So here it is, Jan 04, kind of mid-winter.  Last night it rained a bit, and as I type this, it is +7 deg C.  Basically no snow, nor
has there been.  Not that I'm complaining, but it is odd.  I keep waiting for the payback, and being Alberta, when it comes, it will
not be kind.
     But for now, I'll just enjoy a somewhat cruel gloat.  (in a short sleeved shirt)

[DamonHD]

Very close to that in London, UK right this very moment (~9C maybe).

(I lived in Edmonton Alberta as a very small child...)

Rgds

Damon

[taylorp035]

Its been a very warm winter here in PA.  Because of it, we had a green Christmas (in a place that gets 200" of snow.....) and no snow for all of November and December.  Just yesterday did we get any lake effect.  Then all of the sudden it went from ~20F to -2 F in a matter of 2 hours around dinner time.  I'm not sure what mother nature has up her sleeve, but we should be afraid... very afraid.

[bj]

   Well, it's 6 in the morning, and it's still +2.6.
   Damon--Same here, I guess we walked on some of the same dirt.
   Taylor--"afraid...very afraid" might just be chiliingly accurate. (pun intended)
    Time will tell, but it is interesting.  We have been stuck in a "Chinook" since sometime in November.

[bj]

Jan 08, same time, and already +4.6.  Last couple of days, smatterings of rain.  Just enough to surprise the buttheads and send
them sliding into the ditch.
Taylor's words woke me up this morning--"be afraid, very afraid".  Cue the music intro for Jaws at this point.
Nice little demo on winds, at different altitudes yesterday.  Launching rockets with the grandkids yesterday,  calm at ground level (1 to 2 KPH)
stiff from the SW at about 150 meters, then SE at about 500 meters.  The SE part means that I will be out looking for a couple of rockets when
the sun comes up.  Good excuse for a walk on a nice warm Sunday.

[bj]

   So, just over a week later, (9 days actually) and the current temp. is -34.2C.  Probably won't rain though.
   What makes winter in Alberta so much fun, and almost never boring.
   

[TimS]

-10C right now here in northern Colorado (7500 feet), down and over from you up there in Alberta.  We've had more snow here already than all of last winter (which was pretty dry in my area).  Up in the high country though, after record snowfall last winter, they can't even open the back bowls of Vail for skiing- not enough snow.  And for the first time since the 1880s, Tahoe didn't get any snow in all of December.  I know the long-term trends are what is important, but its definitely quite different this year.  Crystal clear skies today, a light breeze, and then I look at the forecast from the national weather service:

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. Wind chill values as low as -1. Very windy, with a west wind 14 to 17 mph increasing to between 40 and 43 mph. Winds could gust as high as 70 mph.

Wednesday: A 10 percent chance of snow after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 42. Strong and damaging winds, with a west wind 45 to 50 mph increasing to between 55 and 60 mph. Winds could gust as high as 95 mph

"strong and damaging winds"  95 MPH, huh?  I've never seen that before in a forecast for this area.  I'm definitely shorting out the turbine before I go to bed tonight!

[DanB]

Yes Tim ~ its going to get nutty for the next two days.

We have had a very unusually windy winter so far, it started in Nov when I expect we had gusts around 120, and a lot of healthy trees came down.  My neighbor to the north lost about 60 trees.  Large old fir trees, down in canyons by creeks (seemingly protected from the wind) with trunks 3 feet in diameter were getting snapped off.  My brother lost about 40 trees so far.

So far, only one damaged turbine up here but the damage is fairly minor, I will post pictures about that.

[bj]

   Tim, looks like you (your area) have our snow.  A total of about 2 inches this winter, and with the very warm spell (up until 10 days ago)
only about 1/2 inch right now.  The last two years have been very odd here.  Generally not what you want with turbines  ie no wind, or
next to it, and suddenly 50 to 90 mph.  Dry, then 6 inches of rain in 20 minutes.  Makes preparation for the extremes a little more
challenging.
   That is the old saying in Alberta though, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes".
    All in all, wouldn't live anywhere else though.