Snowstorms

And we were only 0.9C away from breaking the all-time record set back in 1966. A few more sub-zero lows to get through before we see some warmer weather later next week just in time for the long weekend. Been seeing on and off snow flurries all day today. Curious to know if YYZ ends up recording more than a trace today. We recorded 0.4cm back in May 2013.

B.C. has the best weather in all of Canada. Check out Vancouver's forecast for this weekend. Mid 70s and sunshine. Can't get much better than that. https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/bc-74_metric_e.html Interior B.C. can get really hot in the summer. 90s and even 100s in JJA. And its predominately dry heat as opposed to our humid heat in the east.

Thailand was a nice experience. I went to both Bangkok and Phuket but unfortunately missed out on Chiang Mai. I had plans to go to Europe, including Paris, this summer but that all got thrown out because of this virus. Consider yourself lucky, you got out before things escalated. The Prairies can get pretty hot. Some of Canada's hottest temps were recorded out in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Those chinook winds can warm up Calgary even in winter and it's the sunniest city in Canada. Windsor is Canada's real hot spot. For example, just a few days ago it was a balmy 26C (78F) in Windsor but only 15C (60F) in Toronto. That's a 10 degree difference and we're only 365km (225 miles) away. I prefer B.C. weather over anything else in Canada. Sure it rains alot in winter, but their summers are beautiful. As the saying goes, the west coast is the best coast.

I've experienced real humidity when I went to Thailand and dry desert heat when I went to Vegas and Palm Springs, CA. I prefer dry heat, it’s much more tolerable. We average 16 days a year at or above 30C. 32C + is not as common either. The lake keeps us cool through-out the summer which is why sometimes you might see clouds sitting overtop the city on those hot summer days as opposed to the countryside. Let's look back at a few years to see how many 30C days YYZ recorded. 2019: 13 (1/13 above 32C) 2018: 30 (11/30 above 32C) 2017: 13 (4/13 above 32C) 2016: 38 (18/38 above 32C) <<< about as hot as it gets 2015: 14 (5/14 above 32C) 2014: 7 (1/7 above 32C) << cold summer 2013: 15 (7/15 above 32C) Just to give you a perspective of our climate. The summers are not as hot as you think. Most days are 30-32C which isn't even 90F.

You're in the wrong city, matter of fact, wrong country if you're seeking "90-100F+ blowtorches". 100F rarely happens in Toronto. The last time was in 2011 and before that was back in 2001, I believe.

1816 redux. Let's get it. not

Now that you mention it, a friend of mine got stung by a yellow jacket on his head on that exact weekend last year near his cottage. Was not a pretty sight.

Just like those pesky wasps.

All of spring 2019 (Mar-May) into early June sucked lol. I find this is nature's way of balancing things out. Let's not forget all the record warm May's from 2010-2016 and 2018. A string of cold May's was inevitable. Well I hope you can get out today. It's finally 20C (70F). The next two weeks will likely stay below 70F.

Looks like we might have our first shot at 70F tomorrow lol. The last time it was 70F at YYZ was October 7. In other words, it's been 208 days since the last time we hit 70F making it the 4th longest streak ever. If we don't hit 70F tomorrow, we'll be in 2nd place by Tuesday. Can't get much worse than that tbh.

Just a few stats at YYZ. Total precip: 1.61" (avg is 2.70") - driest April since 2012 Max temp: 58.6F - coldest April maximum temperature ever Min temp: 23.3F Mean temp for the month: 42.6F (-2.2F below avg) Overall conclusion: Another garbage April.

Uhhhh... no! The next time I want to see snow is Nov. I'm ready for bbq season (at home ofc).

28 days into the month and the warmest temperature YYZ has recorded is ~59F. Although there's 2 more days left, its looking unlikely we'll beat that. If so, it'll be the lowest maximum temperature ever recorded in April. On another note, it's been 205 days since the last time YYZ hit 68-70F (20C). The weekend looks comparatively mild, but if we can avoid hitting 68F until after next Tuesday, we'll be in 2nd place. 1st place will be tough to beat as it stands at 243 days back in 1977-78. Almost seems like an anomaly compared to the others.

We're currently sitting at 1.25" for the month. We average 2.70" in April. This will be our driest April since 2016 too. Quite the difference between Southern Ohio and Southern ON/SE Michigan.

It's been surprisingly dry. A dry April was bound to happen at some point especially when you consider the last few April's. I believe 2018 was the wettest April on record. Sucks we couldn't cash in a couple more cm's in March and April. YYZ fell short of 140cm by 0.8cm.

When I went grocery shopping last week, I saw numerous bottles of hand sanitizer. It was sold out everywhere prior to that. Limit was 2, so I grabbed 2 lol. Now we wait for Lysol and/or Clorox wipes to be restocked.

Looks like this will be the first time since 1993 that YYZ has failed to hit 70F before May. This has only happened 14 times since 1938 (when records began). The latest date ever was May 19, 1978. < No thank you.

Much of winter was above average so a below normal strech was inevitable.

April 2012 was near normal by all accounts. May 2012 was exceptionally warm which gave way to a warm summer thereafter.

8th straight day now, including today, with low's below freezing. Currently 32F with a windchill of 18F and light flurries. Feels more like December than late April. Another terrible start to Spring. The PNA may flip negative come early May, which aligns with the NAO flip, so we'll see if that changes as we progress towards the last few days of the month.

17 days into April and YYZ is running below average for the month. Still 13 days left to go, including today, so we'll see how the month progresses. If we finish below average, it'll be the first time since November.

It was an exceptionally mild winter but unlike previous mild winters, i.e. 2011-12, we fared leagues better. February seems to be our best month of late, so it's no surprise February ended up above average in DTW. I think our 12 year running average is 15" at YYZ, way above our 1981-2010 average of 9.5" and 1971-2000 average of 8.8". Snowcover was almost absent this winter. We'd get a couple inches and within a few days it'd be gone. I think the reason DTW saw 41 days with snowcover this year was because we had an active storm track all winter long. There was hardly any arctic air this winter. Hence why I refuse to give this winter anything higher than a B+. Hard to forget that 3" rain storm back in Jan lol. Nonetheless, nice to see both Chicago and Detroit finishing at or slightly above average.

Did you see that video of him putting a mask on?

Crazy how despite all odds, both Detroit and Toronto finished above average this winter. How did Jan and Feb fare? YYZ recorded 21" in Feb. Ended up being the 9th snowiest Feb on record, if I'm not mistaken.

3-15K alone is devastating but 100K is just catastrophic. We've seen over 400 cases a day now for the last few days. Apparently were not testing as vigorously as other countries are so that number could be a lot higher. Correct me if I'm wrong tho. I don't know if you've heard but some family in Brampton got fined 100K for throwing a "party" despite Ford prohibiting gatherings of more than 5 people. My WFH got extended till May 1 now and I suspect it may get extended again as we approach the end of the month. April will be a rough month but if these social distancing measures are increasingly forced, then May can end up a lot better.