The climate: Spring edition

I didn't know that Northern Hemisphere seasons started at different times to Australia! Spring begins on 21 March, in line with the equinox. The things you learn!

Well, it doesn't feel like spring will ever come. March continued just as January and February seemed to: with lots of snow and very cold temperatures. We had the biggest snow storm we have seen during March. Montreal mostly takes snow in its stride. It does slow the traffic obviously, but the city can cope: the street clearers come out quickly and life continues as normal. This storm however, did disrupt the city. With a storm accompanying the snow, people were advised to stay indoors! We had in excess of 15 cms in a few hours.  This photo, to the right, shows the snow piled up outside our door! As Lach commented, lucky the door opens inwards! Then you have to step into it though.. ! Damn those nice shoes.

This fresh snow melted very quickly though, mainly as the next day hovered around zero, with sunshine. The snow didn't get a chance to freeze as ice. A few days later, we had a lovely day of spring skiing, where the temps rose to 3 degrees, which was lovely: no gloves or beanies as we enjoyed the apres ski hot chocolates.

However, this didn't last: the next morning,  more than 12 cms of fresh, powdery snow fell. Very unpredictable! The next 2-3 days are predicted to be back to tops of around -6, so winter hasn't gone yet.

Signs of spring are emerging however: you may notice a flower bud on the end of this twig. How the tree manages any growth in this cold is astounding. I'm sure with only a few days of warmth, the whole tree will change quickly. We are looking forward to the transition of spring in relation to Easter and seeing the new life emerge in the natural environment.

Our driveway was almost clear! The ice that has been sitting right at the join of the road and driveway was only a thin layer of ice and we managed to crack some of it away.... until that 10 + cms of snow this morning! I had to shovel to get the car out!

 Lach loved the fresh snow and it was the added bonus of being a weekend. His beanie was donated to the snowman cause. You can see some of the depth of the snow on the swing behind him: he has wiped it off mid morning, so that is only an hour or so's worth of snow!