Monthly Archives: March 2008

Well, for all those out there wondering what it’s like in Ottawa wonder no more. The New York Times decided to write up on our little “Winter from Hell”. Gotta love the picture of Luc Guertin, though, and his 18+ft snow wall . Tons of Snow Test a Place Where Cold is No Stranger (registration, free, required) To enjoy a shot of our neighbourhood, here’s what it looks like after the recent melt off! Those banks are about 10ft high, they used to be about 14′ high but it’s been raining today and reasonably mild the last couple of weeks. And during that storm in early March — this was halfway through, with another 20+cm on its way.

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I lived through the winter of 1970-71. It was something else. 444 cm of snow — that’s more than 14.5 feet! — fell that winter. I remember shoveling and shoveling and shoveling. And just when you thought not another flake could fall, more would fall. Well, this winter is now officially the second most snowy of all time. We’ve now had 355cm or more than 11.5 feet. And Environment Canada tells us that March usually accounts for 20% of our snowfall! Last night we had nearly 30cm, another record — we’ve had a lot this winter. If we’re expecting to see a “normal” March that means we’ll have another 50cm to look forward to. Think that’s nuts? Well, Environment Canada has said we’re looking at a week or so of snow, perhaps another 25 – 30cm before the middle of next week. And that won’t even put us 1/2 way through the month! Another 50cm would push us over 4 metres! Nuts. Last year we had nearly no snow, just over a metre if memory serves. This year we may have 4 times as much as last year, and well more than a normal winter that sees about 2.5 metres.

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