The tutor offers more reflections about his past experiences with Canadian weather.

Here on the west coast today, it’s 8°C; we’re under a rainfall warning.  Subtropical air filled with moisture is sweeping over us; it’s typical west coast winter weather.

As I mentioned in my January 26 post, I lived in the Atlantic provinces until I was sixteen. There, the winters were long and cold.

One day years ago, I was in a conversation about the weather – how different it is in the Atlantic provinces compared with the west coast. I observed, offhandedly, that I recalled February’s being the coldest month when I was a kid. It was surprising to the others in the room – probably unbelievable. Here, flowers bloom in February.

Yet, what I said had been honest. I recalled, in the fading afternoon light of February, light blue snow, piled high along driveways. The cold’s grip was unquestionable; the temperature had been sub-zero for days and days. The dusk sky’s clarity, its first stars already developing, promised another night below -20°C. By the way: more than one Maritimer has since agreed with me: February, by their reckoning, is the coldest month.

Well, they probably agreed because it’s true. In at least three places I lived as a kid, the coldest month is indeed February:

Winter arrives late in the Atlantic provinces. Yet, by March, it’s warming up even there.

Weather in the Atlantic provinces is complex. I’ll be talking more about it in coming posts:)

Sources:

gocanada.about.com
www.yr.no

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.