The last word on Canadian Winters

[welshgirl67]

Originally Posted by raymapleleaf

hi we are moving to calgary does it take a long time to get used to the long winters we heard it takes five years ? Or you move but we like calgary a lot
and think we we be o.k (praying)

Yes it is freezing but at least in calgary you can have warm sunny days with the chinnoks warming you up. Took us a couple of years to get used to the cold and even now after 4 years i dread the long 6 months ahead of us. Whats worse a rainy wales or cold calgary lol.








I am putting this up as a sticky, because nine trillion people have asked the same question. Yes it is damn cold in canada in the winter.
If it wasn't there would be more than 30 million people over there. The country would be full up.
It's a great country. Absolutely full of nature. Full of great people, great sport, great everything. But it is very cold in winter.
Read this. It is cold enough to freeze your hair solid if you come out of the pool with damp hair. Cold enough to keep a frozen turkey on the deck for weeks before christmas if it doesn't fit in your freezer. Cold enough to freeze your car radiator as you drive up the highway at 70 mph.
By the way, people who come from winnipeg call it winterpeg because the winters are cold and endless. Children freeze to death if they escape from their houses and wander across to the neighbours in the middle of the day. Within minutes. This is true, not an urban myth.
Don't let this put you off. But don't go there thinking it will be all sunny, crisp wintery days like we get after a snowfall in england. And don't think it will be like scotland, or yorkshire or anywhere in the uk. It won't be. It will often be gray with snow for days and days on end. It can snow continuously for a week or more at a time.
This year calgarians were complaining on the radio about the bad weather - first time i heard that. The roads weren't being properly cleared. The weather was bad and getting worse, and not lifting like it usually does.
Please don't reply to this mail saying it's not that bad. You can pretend all you like. I happen to believe it is better to realise what you are getting into and deal with it, rather than stick your head in the sand.

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[telcoman]

I live in Mexico 5 months a year. The rest of the time, canada is great.

[jawnbc]

I'm moving to New Zealand next month, where "winter" in Auckland is 12C on average. Can be rather wet, but I'm moving from Vancouver. THAT'S wet!

I lived in Sydney NSW for 3 years and missed Vancouver's climate a great deal: I found 10 months of summer oppressive and relentless and the novelty of bodysurfing at Bondi after work wore out eventually. I'm good with anything between 20-30C in summer; above that is brutal if I'm not on a beach.

But I shall miss winter here. Not because I live 28 days of heavy rain, then one day of partly cloudy, then another 29 days of heavy rain (seriously, it was like that over Dec/Jan on more than one occasion in the past 23 years). The grey can be quite bleak.

But the rains at sea level meant massive dumps of snow in our local mountains. Going snowboarding or cross country skiing after work NEVER got tiresome and I'll miss that in Auckland. Though for what a weekend in Whistler cost me I can spend a week in Queenstown, including flights!

I went to uni in upstate New York in the "snow belt". Winter thunderstorms would dump 30+cm snow on our campus in a couple of hours: we once got over 150cm in two days. Never cancelled classes; bus always ran. But there's the infrastructure in place to deal with it. Montréal's the same, apparently.

[gringotim]

As weather goes, what are the 7 months that Canada is great? In my opinion, as far as the weather goes, (at least for 2012) theres July, August, and so far, September.

Originally Posted by telcoman

I live in Mexico 5 months a year. The rest of the time, canada is great.

[nmunnery]

In my opinion, july and june are the worst, the humidity is a killer. I love May, August, September and October and of course the winter months of December,January and February when it is dry, cold and great winter sports months.

[gringotim]

Thats one nice thing about south west BC, it can be hot, but we don't have to worry about it being humid.

Originally Posted by nmunnery

In my opinion, july and june are the worst, the humidity is a killer. I love May, August, September and October and of course the winter months of December,January and February when it is dry, cold and great winter sports months.

[byline]

On Nova Scotia's South Shore, we've had a fabulous summer: Not too hot or humid, and lots of sunshine. Very different from last summer, which was mostly cool and rainy. And fall is turning out to be another stunning one, so far.

[bugdog]

Hi
This is a very good post
I have landed a job in Edmonton lmo approved etc
One question can i still get around in the winter are the roads cleared
I now have real concerns
Underground parking or heated parking stalls , necessity or luxury
Does the town grind to a halt or is there a infastructure in place for the winter weather.

[Auld Yin]

Originally Posted by bugdog

Hi
This is a very good post
I have landed a job in Edmonton lmo approved etc
One question can i still get around in the winter are the roads cleared
I now have real concerns
Underground parking or heated parking stalls , necessity or luxury
Does the town grind to a halt or is there a infastructure in place for the winter weather.

Unlike the UK the past few winters Canada has had many years to figure out how to handle snow and ice. The necessary roads will be cleared promptly and efficiently. Some apartment buildings will have underground/heated parking, some won't. Most houses have garages. Your car will probably have a block heater, particularly if it's parked outside overnight.
The city does not grind to a halt unless there's a particularly bad storm.

[bugdog]

Thanka Auls Yin
Seems the winters are manageable
Does anyone actually enjoy them

Please they must have their plus points