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Canada Snow ~ Winter in Canada

Tips for coping with Canadian winters snow and cold!

Canada Snow in Winter can be a big shock if you've always lived in a hot country! If all your life has been spent in a country like Australia, where you can go surfing at Christmas and not freeze to death, you might think you're a happy camper.

But living in a hot climate has prevented you from developing an important skill set : How to cope with living in a cold climate with snow, ice, sleet, like Canada. Chances are, you cannot imagine ' freezing ' rain and don't know how lucky you are! Trivia: Freakishly hot day in winter in western Canada is called a Chinook.


Winter in Canada ~ Snow half shovelled off car!

My car buried in snow in mississauga ontario canada snowstormWhen it's winter in Canada , my emails to a friend in Sydney read like weather reports, as indeed they do much of the year.

In Canada, we even have a television channel just for weather -- and mainly Canadian weather, at that!

Canadians tend to think the entire world is as concerned with weather as they are, and it comes as some considerable surprise that much of the world is not.

It occurred to me that my friend has no frame of reference, other than the few winters she lived in Paris, which Canadians know is nowhere near as wintery!

Winter's heavy snowstorms and bitter cold weather in Canada and the northern U.S. affect every facet of life, things like how long it takes to get to work, or if we get to work at all, when we can shop, or get out and about.

And it means work, hard work, to scrape ice off cars and walks and drives. Australians have no idea.

Trying to explain the impact of snow and cold to a hot weather Aussie is like trying to explain a heart surgery technique to a water buffalo. You can try, but some things -- childbirth comes to mind -- just have to be experienced

So, for my Aussie friend and other warm climate types who can't relate to the tingle of frost-bitten fingers or the stess on a fast-beating heart after an hour spent shoveling snow off the drive, I've put together some pictures and tips to give them a frame of reference for dealing with winter.

Hot climate versus Cold Climate

Port Doulgas queensland australia palm trees First of all, to show what kind of weather many Australians are blessed with much of the year, here's a picture of warm and sunny Queensland, Australia, in November.

You'll notice the palm trees and sandy beach. The only white bits in the picture are clouds, well off on the horizon.

This lovely beach scene with no snow in sight is why Canadians head to the Dominican, the Algarve, Costa Rica or any other warm place when winter comes to Canada! Even those Canadians who love to ski and snowboard!

Snow, Snow Everywhere!

snow in canada covering the tall pine trees in late afternoon This picture shows evergreen trees in Canada following a snow storm. You can tell the storm has passed because the sky is blue.

You can tell it's very cold, and not very windy, because the snow is sticking to the trees.

It's rare to have snow cling to trees for any length of time, unless it's the wet, sticky kind we get when temperatures are right around the freezing mark. But that never lasts.

If the temperature warms, the snow melts and drips off; if the temperature drops, it takes away the mositure and the wind blows it off.

To be fair, hot, dry climates do offer skillsets that Canadians do not have. Australians, it is said, if stranded in the desert without water, will drink urine, or, if stung by a stinger (marine box jellyfish), will apply fresh urine to neutralize the jellyfish venom.

Canadians, too, will use this body fluid, but not as a water substitute. Canadians will use urine as a de-icer. Really. If you are stranded outside a vehicle without a keyless entry system that's totally covered in ice, including the door locks, some Canadians -- males, mostly -- will thaw the locks by directing fresh urine into the door.

Beginning then, with our commonality of alternate uses for body fluids, I will attempt to outline a Skillset for Aussies or anyone from a hot climate who finds themself plopped down in a cold climate.


Skillset for Life in a Cold Climate ~ Winter in Canada Tips

  • Don't eat the yellow snow. Or the blue snow. Or the pink snow. Snow is white.

  • Don't stick your tongue or any damp body part on frozen metal. Do not bother testing this out.

  • Use a proper ice scraper tool. Credit cards will snap under cold and pressure.
  • Don't scrape too hard when you scrape ice off your car -- you'll scrape the paint, too.

  • Don't buy groceries, then leave them in the trunk (boot) of the car. Fresh produce freezes rather quickly, especially bananas. (You'd think something named Iceberg lettuce would be all right, but you'd be wrong)

  • Don't drive off in your car until you've removed all snow and ice, including from the roof of the vehicle. (I cannot stress this enough, people!) When the interior warms up, this ice and snow will dislodge and launch itself like some frozen frisbee at the vehiicles in your vicinity. A frozen projectile at speed can cause (and has caused) serious crashes.

  • Corollary to above tip: Watch out for other vehicles, especially very large trucks that cannot be de-iced easily (They are pretty high and difficult to clear). Large trucks randomly launch very large sheets of icy snow from great heights onto the roadway. It's an adventure in reflexive driving. This also applies to skyscrapers. Watch how you go!

  • Earrings, especially solid metal ones, get very cold very fast in freezing temperatures.
  • Do not lick your lips outdoors in very cold weather. Major chapping! Carrry lip balm at all times.
  • Use a thermal mug for take away coffee, tea and hot chocolate, etc.
  • Inuit -- Canada's native northerners -- have so many words for snow they can describe each of its nuances in a word or two that efficiently conveys the age, temperature, moisture content etc of a particular type of snow.
  • Keep your head covered in cold weather -- the body will lose most heat through the head.

 


More Canada Winter and Snow Pictures




Got a question or a tip?

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  • charlie johnson - May 23, 2009, 12:40 am
    I can assure you I can relate to cold weather,only last year had to put jacket on some days during winter.


    From the land down under
  • Tushar - October 26, 2009, 10:24 am
    I am from India, haven't ever seen any temperature below 5 degrees centigrade.

    Can you please point me to a comprehensive resource of braving Canadian winters - precautions to take while traveling?

    Especially when one has a baby/infant along.

    ==============================

    This page is a good place to start! Follow the links, or post another comment with your email so I can reply. I will not publish it.
    Karen
  • Surviving in Canadian Cold
    saba - May 30, 2010, 7:56 am
    i need to know some major tips for coping with the cold weather as I aim from a Hot country.

    I Hope i will get some Help
  • Winter Clothing Tips
    Karen - http://www.snapshotjourneys.com/travel-packing-tips.html - May 30, 2010, 3:15 pm
    Winter Clothing Tips

    Hi ! did you happen to see my travel tips page about what to pack for winter travel?

    http://www.snapshotjourneys.com/travel-packing-tips.html

    It's about halfway down.

    This is general information: What else, specifically, would you like to know?

    And are you coming for a trip, or moving, and to what part of Canada?

    When are you coming?

    As I write this, the end of May, Toronto is having a hear wave - 30C - and it snowed in Alberta yesterday. The climate is varied, and the weather unpredictable at time.

    Let me know what else I can tell you.

    Cheers!

    Karen
  • Joanne - August 5, 2010, 6:32 am
    I am Canadian living in the Middle East. I would much rather have the Canadian winters than the 50+ summer heat of the desert.

    At least I can bundle up and go outside in Canada during winter. Here you cannot go outside because removing clothes means sun burn, adding clothes means burning up from too many clothes.

    At least in winter one can walk outside, go snow shoeing and hiking, plus there is a beauty about winter wonderland. Nothing like the snow glistening from sunlight and having a snow ball fight while toboganning. Can't go outside for 4 months of the year here in both places just for different reasons but affect on humans is the same.

    Canada rocks!
  • Snow versus Heat
    Karen - August 5, 2010, 9:55 am
    Hi Joanne!

    Point taken about the high temperatures! 50+is too warm for me, too!

    Your comment brought to mind a conversation I had with a Canadian living in Thailand. He, too, missed the cold and snow of winter after months of high heat and higher humidity.

    I say I don't like snow, but mainly it's that I don't like having to deal with it - shoveling, scraping, etc.

    I do love getting out on a great winter's day.

    Hope you can get back here this winter to enjoy some of its finer points.

    Can you get to Dubai? There's an indoor ski hill there :-)


    cheers!

    Karen
  • Thats Deep
    Sledges - October 4, 2010, 9:00 am
    Wow thats deep snow!

    We only get that maybe once a year here in the UK.

    Simon
    http:/ /www.gardengames.co.uk/acatalog/Snow_Sledges.html
  • Deep White Stuff
    Karen - October 4, 2010, 5:40 pm
    Oh I know - lots of friends/rellies in UK.

    For lots of snow, tho, you really need to go to Whistler in BC.

    Or other mountain areas on the windward side.
  • sheezz
    kaz - June 8, 2011, 11:50 am
    crazy ive only seen snow once- a daytrip.wasnt actually snowing ski field mt buller.

    Im in melb.oz winter nights average approx10c.

    Cant believe u guys handle such freeze. Why dont u move?peeing on locks-crazy stuff. I cant handle cold.not acclimatised to it.

    just defrosting my freezer in the old days used to freak me out-well exaggerating a bit.,id be frazzled in a cold climate.
    Luck.my poor bro is living now in nth switz.his doing it hard- hates shovelling ice.in mornings.
  • Not a snow fan either :-)
    Karen - June 9, 2011, 7:36 am
    One of the things that unites Canadians is a dread of winter :-) We talk about the weather more than any country.

    And dealing with snow and ice gives us a common whingeing ground.

    Most Aussies, I would guess, share your feelings about cold and snow - my friends think it's freezing when it is 8C.

    And this year, south Australia is having a cold one, too, though I hope the snow leaves you alone.

    A friend from Goulburn area just moved to Canada, but he's not looking forward to his first winter.
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