In Which I Sound like an Old Fart
Before I start being
opinionated, I would like it known that when I was a child, I did not actually
walk to school for miles in blizzards, nor was it uphill both ways.
That said, we have
become wimps.
Winter in Toronto has
so far been very winter-ish. It started a good four weeks early and we have had
what can objectively be called a lot of weather. There has been several large
snowfalls, an ice storm, way too many days spent in the deep freeze and we’re
all more than a little sick of this.
This is no excuse for freaking out about the -40 windchill that started this week.
People called in sick
to work and we were all glued to the television watching newscasts where every
single reporter were in a froth of hysteria about how dangerous it was. Pipes
might freeze, there was the risk of frostbite if you sat outside naked for an
extended period of time, cars could have difficulty starting and the morning
commute would, as usual, be a mess.
The last month has
been God’s gift to the 24-hour news cycle. At a time when there usually isn’t
much news happening because the entire country is huddled inside by the
fireplace drinking hot chocolate, Mother Nature has supplied a bonanza of
weather events that can fill up hours.
This is not to say
it’s not cold. Of course it’s cold. It’s the kind of cold that can best be
described as f**king freezing. And yes, I just swore, because -40 deserve
swearing. What it does not deserve, at least not in Toronto, is this level of
hysteria. -50 deserves making the news. Three
feet of snow (hi, Buffalo!) deserves making the news. What’s going on in the US
right now deserves making the news (although the term “polar vortex” does
sounds like something out of a bad disaster movie). If you live in Georgia and
you have a foot of snow and your fingers are blue, it deserves making the news.
Canada? In January? Not so much.
We have become very
spoiled as climate change has made our winters a lot milder than they were when
I first arrived in this country 30 years ago. I remember winters with a lot of
snow and frequent incidents of -30 and -40 windchill. We all still went to school
and work. The only times classes were canceled or we were sent home from work
were if the storm was showing signs of getting really bad (as in the 30+
centimeter dump). Classes weren’t canceled ahead of time, people didn’t call in
sick to work, because it was Toronto in January and it was normal. Did pipes
freeze? Of course they did. Was there a risk of frostbite? Of course there was
— the tip of my right ear still reminds me of an encounter with howling winds
in an open space — and so, we bundled up. Did cars had trouble starting? Of
course they did. People made plans, gave each other a boost, got winter tires
and drove carefully, you did your best to warm up the pipes and then you moved
on with your life.
These days, I’m
encouraged to cancel my ride with WheelTrans if the forecast promises 8 cm of
snow or more. That’s 3 inches. THREE INCHES!! I'm just happy I work from home,
because I can't imagine any employer being ecstatic when you don’t show up once
a week for three months.
Which brings me back
to the news. I know that it’s a business, I know that they are in competition for
eyeballs, but when people are calling in sick Monday morning because the
forecast promised 10 cm (max) of snow for Toronto and the news went nuts about
it, it’s ridiculous! When I watched the news Monday evening and every single
reporter was freaking out about how cold it was going to be, I couldn’t help
but wonder that maybe that had something to do with them having to wait outside
in -30 temperatures (that’s -22F) for their segments. That’s enough to drive
anyone into a mild case of hysteria. Because yes, that is cold. But it is, as I
may have mentioned once or twice: Toronto. In January.
Can we all just get a
grip?
Comments
The other big news that no one is paying any attention to is that out here on the Left Coast, we are officially having a drought. No rain in months and months, no snow in the Sierras, and a landscape so tinder-dry I'm a bit scared of the oncoming spring and summer months. Water rationing has started. And last night, our local weather guy said there's no rain in the forecast for at least a month, and even then, it's anyone's guess.
This, apparently, is not news. But I'd gladly take 15 feet of that Eastern snow for our mountains and a couple of weeks of rain for everywhere else. We're thirsty.
Oh, and bored. The temp has been in the mid-60s for months now. And except for a little overcast once in a great while, it's sunny. I know that SOUNDS great, but jeez, is it DULL.
I guess we can always find something to complain about, eh?
I'm so pleased someone who knows (as she lives there) has confirmed my suspicions about this chilly weather (i.e. it's relatively normal for the time of year). I had a really good laugh yesterday afternoon at an Austrian weather website which had a link to a report telling us it was -8C in HAWAII! On consulting various weather reports I discovered that, no, no one on the islands had noticed if it is. I came to the conclusion that whoever had written it should have failed geography at school. They mentioned Florida, Hawaii and Mexico as if that was the order in a line across the southern states.
Or is there a town called Hawaii down there somewhere?
Bizarre isn't it though - our winter is being a bit low on cold and snow here in central Europe, sort of hovering around freezing. The southern UK has been drowning since just before Christmas. Yesterday it was in the upper 50s (F)in the middle of Germany and bees were out collecting pollen from catkins.
Glad you said it - you and I, along with Rick Mercer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EQdXyKiFY4) will be "old farts" together.
I grew up in Thunder Bay, when we would have a cold snap of 20 - 30 below (before the windchill was added in) for several weeks.
My stint in Thompson, Manitoba was also very cold.
As you've said, it was winter. You dressed appropriately (or not -says the 12/13/14 year old Marianna who was fashionable, but freezing, in her leather boots as she waited for the school bus.) Yes, it ran in those cold days - indoor recess.
Weather drama = jobs, advertising and stirs people up (as if they need more of that!)
I've been somewhat spoiled living out here on the coast. When it's minus 5 and bright and sunny I think it's a balmy day since I remember what a Canadian winter feels like, without the hype!