Weather Woes

Just for the record, the weather today is calm and sunny, but the air is full of bullshit.
― Chuck Palahniuk

But who wants to be foretold the weather? It is bad enough when it comes, without our having the misery of knowing about it beforehand.
― Jerome K. Jerome

Here are some obvious things about the weather:
It's real. You can't change it by wishing it away. If it's dark and rainy, it really is dark and rainy, and you can't alter it. It might be dark and rainy for two weeks in a row. BUT it will be sunny one day. It isn't under one's control when the sun comes out, but come out it will. One day.
― Stephen Fry

I saw the above meme on groundhog day, and I couldn’t help but think how true it is. Anyone who’s still in denial about climate has only to consider the weather we’ve been having lately.

Everything seems more extreme now. In the summer we get record-breaking heat that causes drought conditions that in turn fuel forest fires. And then we’ll get extreme rainfall that causes flooding.

And the wind! Living on the shore of lake Ontario, we’re used to breezy weather, but the last few years we’ve been getting an increasing number of weather alerts for extreme wind. This past Christmas the wind was so extreme it was uprooting trees and knocking out the power lines.

Just last week we had extreme cold warnings in effect. Friday was the coldest day of the year so far, and Saturday the temperature rose to the point they were calling for rain. Not freezing rain, rain. That being said, our winters are overall warmer than they used to be. The extreme cold that Canada was once known for is becoming a thing of the past.

There was another meme I saw that showed a school bus with snow banks towering on either side of it with the caption of “1973, School Open” and below it a picture of a school bus with a light dusting of snow with the caption, “2023, School Cancelled.” This is also pretty accurate. Our winters have become so mild that we’ve forgotten what they used to be like.

When I was a kid, what we call extreme snow today was just ordinary snow back then. We’d start getting snow in November, and it wouldn’t stop until March. The snow banks were magnificent (if you were a kid). White Christmases were guaranteed. Now, even if we do get a white Christmas, it’s just a light dusting of snow. The fact that this winter has been snowier than the last several years put together is just another anomaly.

I kind of miss those days.

I also don’t remember summer being as extreme as it is now. My mother had a huge vegetable garden, and never worried about lack of rain or too much rain. Nobody had an air conditioner – they weren’t necessary. I don’t even recall many people using fans – the breeze from an open window was usually enough to keep things comfortable.

As much as I love to have the windows open for the breeze, I’m grateful we invested in central air when we had to replace our furnace a few years ago. The old window unit air conditioner just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

As much as I’m solar powered – I love me a sunny day – I don’t enjoy the heat. And unfortunately, Canada’s been heating up the last few years. I can see a time coming where I’ll spend more time inside during the summer than I do in the winter.

I’m not a fan of change, and climate change is one of the worst.