What Is The Weather Today? (No Mercury Jockeying!)

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

I know what you are saying but there is a sentiment here that they make up for their spring in the fall, as it relates to the rest of the country.

No, not as it relates to the rest of the country, though our late falls are on average warmer than more continental parts if the country. We're just happy that fall is usually our most reliably consistent seasons. Spring is all over the place but usually bad, summer can be nice but is prone to long periods of 🞵🞵🞵🞵, and winter is....well, you guys know how flip floppy winter is here. Fall is usually the one constant, and usually good.

Except right now we're about 🞵🞵🞵🞵-deep into some November weather.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by wave46

Most people live in climate-controlled bubbles these days. Work in them too.

Weather is an event that happens outside the window.

For all the complaining, I've spent but a few minutes each year feeling exceptionally cold or hot for an extended time that I didn't subject myself voluntarily to (and prepared for).

Yeah, my sense is that day-to-day weather isn't nearly as important to most people as one would think just by reading SSP Canada (and some other online forum).

Average people generally have a tolerance for temperatures that range between +35C and -20C. They also "need" at least a couple of months of reasonably summerlike weather during every year, and they don't want it to -40C all winter or +40C all summer.

That's a pretty wide window and almost all of inhabited Canada falls into that range.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by flar

If Canada had a place with year round nice weather, I'd be the first to move there. I personally think extreme SW Ontario is the best you can get in Canada, and that's why I moved here (I also grew up here before spending over 20 years away)

It has to be nice summer weather though. In the US South, it's too hot, so summer there is like winter to us, where people avoid the outdoors due to the discomfort.

Hmmm... having lived/grown up in Southern Ontario until I was 18, I'd have to disagree and say that the se coastline of Vancouver Island handily wins the 'best year-round weather in Canada' participation ribbon.

[goodgrowth]

I think people tend to overrate temperature and underlook things like the balance of sun/cloud throughout the year. It's one thing for it to get cold but cold and cloud makes for extra depressing weather.

If you look at the stats BC has extreme variance in cloud(and precipation) between summer and winter...and so does Southern Ontario believe it or not. People think well continental climate automatically = sun. No not really. London, Ontario is actually cloudier than places in BC during the winter.

The praries get sun throughout the year but of course you can get extreme temps in the winter.

Which is why I think places in The Maritimes are underrated weather wise as you are getting more balance in terms of sun throughout the year. I'd argue Halifax has the most balanced climate in Canada in terms of temps/sun/precipitation balance throughout the year.

[Chadillaccc]

Interesting point. Ive never been to NS yet, but I can definitely see your reasoning.

[flar]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Hmmm... having lived/grown up in Southern Ontario until I was 18, I'd have to disagree and say that the se coastline of Vancouver Island handily wins the 'best year-round weather in Canada' participation ribbon.

Not a chance. I'm talking about Essex and Kent, the extreme SW, which is different than the rest of southern Ontario. You lived in Woodstock/London area, which is colder and snowier than where I live. On average, about half of days in January and February are above freezing here. Last winter it barely snowed. We had green grass up until mid-January and I was able to plant my new lawn in the last week of March.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

St. John's seasonal lag heading into autumn isn't as pronounced as you would except considering how long it seems to take for spring and summer to kick in. Fall seems to happen inline with most of the country.

Mostly true, but there's still a difference. Every year on #nlwx there's a few tweets like, "Just back in St. John's from Ottawa, where there was snow on the ground. Fall here is really underrated." Etc.

Definitely not this year, though.

Still cold, still 🞵🞵🞵🞵. This feels like early December.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

Which is why I think places in The Maritimes are underrated weather wise as you are getting more balance in terms of sun throughout the year. I'd argue Halifax has the most balanced climate in Canada in terms of temps/sun/precipitation balance throughout the year.

Halifax gets a kind of clear sunny day at any time of year that's very rare here in Vancouver or in Southern Ontario in the winter months. New Brunswick gets the sunny days too. Saint John is about as sunny in winter as Alberta.

Another factor is that Halifax is at only 44 N. The sun is a bit stronger than in Western Canadian locations that are at 49 - 53 N. At Christmas time in Halifax the sun gets as high up in the sky as it does in Edmonton on Halloween. It is the same with Southern Ontario. Windsor is 42 N.

Overall it makes a pretty big difference.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Mostly true, but there's still a difference. Every year on #nlwx there's a few tweets like, "Just back in St. John's from Ottawa, where there was snow on the ground. Fall here is really underrated." Etc.

St. John's actually gets more snow in November than Ottawa does, and about the same in October (very little).

I think the real difference is that the worst-case Atlantic cold snaps are very mild compared to more continental areas. Ottawa has hit -20 in November. Calgary has hit -35.

The record November low at St. John's YYT is tied with YVR.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by flar

Not a chance. I'm talking about Essex and Kent, the extreme SW, which is different than the rest of southern Ontario. You lived in Woodstock/London area, which is colder and snowier than where I live. On average, about half of days in January and February are above freezing here. Last winter it barely snowed. We had green grass up until mid-January and I was able to plant my new lawn in the last week of March.

You understand that Victoria, Nanaimo, and Comox's climate type is literally Warm Summer Mediterranean (Csb)... right? The daily means in January range from 4.6 to 6.1 depending on the station. So if we're going by your chosen metrics, no other region in the country even comes remotely close to this.

Basically in all metrics, the SE coast of Van Island is as close to perfect as it gets in Canada. It seldom gets too hot to be uncomfortable and is never extremely muggy (both unlike SW Ontario), with average lows above freezing all winter (again, unlike anywhere in SW Ontario). They have several species of deciduous trees that don't even lose their leaves in winter... again... unlike anywhere in SW Ontario.

[DrJoe]

Originally Posted by someone123

Halifax gets a kind of clear sunny day at any time of year that's very rare here in Vancouver or in Southern Ontario in the winter months. New Brunswick gets the sunny days too. Saint John is about as sunny in winter as Alberta.

Another factor is that Halifax is at only 44 N. The sun is a bit stronger than in Western Canadian locations that are at 49 - 53 N. At Christmas time in Halifax the sun gets as high up in the sky as it does in Edmonton on Halloween. It is the same with Southern Ontario. Windsor is 42 N.

Overall it makes a pretty big difference.

Say what? One of the things I associate with winter is those bright sunny days with a deep deep blue sky. To suggest they don't happen in Southern Ontario is downright laughable. Perhaps less than the east coast but still a frequent occurrence.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by DrJoe

Say what? One of the things I associate with winter is those bright sunny days with a deep deep blue sky. To suggest they don't happen in Southern Ontario is downright laughable. Perhaps less than the east coast but still a frequent occurrence.

Here are some stats...

Percent possible sunshine in December
46.0 - Calgary
39.2 - Winnipeg
38.2 - Halifax
37.5 - Moncton
28.0 - Toronto
25.2 - Ottawa
23.7 - St. John's
22.0 - Vancouver
18.5 - London (ON)

Here in Vancouver what the 22% means is that in practice a month might have a nice week and then you don't see the sun for 3 weeks after that.

[DrJoe]

Originally Posted by someone123

Here are some stats...

Percent possible sunshine in December
46.0 - Calgary
39.2 - Winnipeg
38.2 - Halifax
37.5 - Moncton
28.0 - Toronto
25.2 - Ottawa
23.7 - St. John's
22.0 - Vancouver
18.5 - London (ON)

Here in Vancouver what the 22% means is that in practice a month might have a nice week and then you don't see the sun for 3 weeks after that.

All I'm saying is clear sunny winter days don't seem too infrequent to me. I would guess December sees the least sunlight. The bright sunny days usually accompany arctic highs, milder days are overcast. London, ON seems to be an outlier even within Southern Ontario.

[harls]

Originally Posted by someone123

Here are some stats...

Percent possible sunshine in December
46.0 - Calgary
39.2 - Winnipeg
38.2 - Halifax
37.5 - Moncton
28.0 - Toronto
25.2 - Ottawa
23.7 - St. John's
22.0 - Vancouver
18.5 - London (ON)

Here in Vancouver what the 22% means is that in practice a month might have a nice week and then you don't see the sun for 3 weeks after that.

Percent possible vs. longer actual potential hours of daylight the further south you go in December. I guess it's negligible.

[flar]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

You understand that Victoria, Nanaimo, and Comox's climate type is literally Warm Summer Mediterranean (Csb)... right? The daily means in January range from 4.6 to 6.1 depending on the station. So if we're going by your chosen metrics, no other region in the country even comes remotely close to this.

Basically in all metrics, the SE coast of Van Island is as close to perfect as it gets in Canada. It seldom gets too hot to be uncomfortable and is never extremely muggy (both unlike SW Ontario), with average lows above freezing all winter (again, unlike anywhere in SW Ontario). They have several species of deciduous trees that don't even lose their leaves in winter... again... unlike anywhere in SW Ontario.

For my taste in weather, SWO is equal or better in every month except January to March. I know there's less freezing out there in those months, but it's still damp, cold and 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵, so it's not really much of a win. Plus, there are more hours of daylight in the winter here in SWO (about 45 minutes more daylight on the shortest day of the year).

Don't even get me started on unique plants and animals. Rondeau and Point Pelee have the most biodiversity in Canada.

[flar]

Originally Posted by DrJoe

All I'm saying is clear sunny winter days don't seem too infrequent to me. I would guess December sees the least sunlight. The bright sunny days usually accompany arctic highs, milder days are overcast. London, ON seems to be an outlier even within Southern Ontario.

London is in a bad spot. In the winter, they get hit with lake effect snow. Even in the summer, they seem to get all the thunderstorms and rain.

[giallo]

I'd love for Canada to have a region with reliably warm weather, but it's not the end of the world that we don't.

Living in southern Taiwan, the constant heat got old fast. By my third year there, I was so excited to have winter come as the nights would cool down, and I didn't have to constantly run the AC. Only problem is that sometimes winter didn't come, and you still had days in the high 20s/low 30s in January. By February, you knew that it was too late to have any chance at some cool/cold nighttime temps, and you'd have to wait another 8-9 blistering hot months until you had a chance at it again.

I began to loathe the spring and summer; humid, smelly, and those zebra mosquitoes were everywhere.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by flar

London is in a bad spot. In the winter, they get hit with lake effect snow. Even in the summer, they seem to get all the thunderstorms and rain.

I guess it is because a lot of weather systems either come from the north/west (particularly snowstorms) or from the south (thunderstorms), and for London that means they pass over Lake Huron or Lake Erie, neither of which are too far away.

Buffalo similarly gets dumped on while Windsor and Toronto don't get it as much.

It is similar in Atlantic Canada. The best weather is along the east side of the South Shore of NS from around Barrington up to Halifax. These areas are more sheltered from cold continental weather systems. The southern systems are common in winter too but they usually bring rain even in winter or giant tropical storms that are so strong it doesn't matter if you are 0 km or 100 km from the ocean. In towns like Shelburne NS, even January is 2/3 rain, and the average high is above freezing year-round. The all-time record low temperature in Shelburne is -24.6.

Shelburne was also once Canada's largest city. It had about 10,000 people in 1784.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by giallo

I'd love for Canada to have a region with reliably warm weather, but it's not the end of the world that we don't.

Living in southern Taiwan, the constant heat got old fast. By my third year there, I was so excited to have winter come as the nights would cool down, and I didn't have to constantly run the AC. Only problem is that sometimes winter didn't come, and you still had days in the high 20s/low 30s in January. By February, you knew that it was too late to have any chance at some cool/cold nighttime temps, and you'd have to wait another 8-9 blistering hot months until you had a chance at it again.

I began to loathe the spring and summer; humid, smelly, and those zebra mosquitoes were everywhere.

The constant heat/humidity would wear on me also. Everything is sticky. Can't keep the windows open because the heat is oppressive.

About the best weather might be Southern California - warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Then again, you have to cope with the tens of millions of people living there.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by wave46

The constant heat/humidity would wear on me also. Everything is sticky. Can't keep the windows open because the heat is oppressive.

About the best weather might be Southern California - warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Then again, you have to cope with the tens of millions of people living there.

Southern California has, without a doubt in my mind, the best weather on the planet. But like you said, there are so many caveats to living there.

I'm sure my attitude towards a constantly hot climate will change once we head in to winter. Seoul can see lows hover around -20C during an extreme cold snap, and I'll be wanting to leave this.....

our turn 8 by Andrew Rochfort, on Flickr


.....for this come January.

xiaoliuqiao right by Andrew Rochfort, on Flickr