It’s a common saying around here. If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. It’s a saying for a reason. We know one thing for certain about our weather. It will change.
That was the reaction when I looked online yesterday and saw people posting about a big snow storm coming our way on Thursday or Friday this week. It might only be a few days away, but it’s still hard to predict with any accuracy.
To be honest, meteorologist is not a job I would ever really want. At least not around here. I’m sure there are places in the world where you can predict what is going to happen with some accuracy. But this isn’t one of them. They talk about the “butterfly effect”, where a butterfly flapping it’s wings in China can change the weather here. How about a whale flapping it’s tail in the middle of the Atlantic? I think those whales are just messing with us some days.
So while it seemed from some of the online reaction people were ready to start booking flights south or making sure they had snow clearing lined up, I decided to take more of a wait and see approach. This time, it paid off. It doesn’t always.
When I checked one website yesterday morning, it was calling for ten to fifteen centimeters of snow Thursday night. And I will admit, looking at that, I was tempted to run out to buy a new snow shovel. But the stores were closed, so I stayed home. Checking the same weather site last night, we were down to one centimeter. Today, it’s zero.
Now granted, I can use a new snow shovel. I like one with a metal edge to be able to get the frozen slush off the driveway. My metal edge wore off some time ago. I’m not sure where it went. It was there one day when I started to shovel, and not there when I finished. So a new shovel with a better edge would be nice. And I probably should wait until a storm is in the forecast to get one. Or wait until March, which is what I usually do. But that’s a different subject.
I have learned that there is a very good reason Environment Canada doesn’t put amounts on snow storms until the day before. They really don’t know. It’s hard to predict. That whale flapping it’s tail could send the snow to Quebec or Greenland. Or double what is coming at us. It’s pretty hard to predict exactly, so they wait until they have a pretty good idea before they say anything. Other weather sites are not quite so cautious. But you have to understand, there’s a good chance things will change.
So for those hoping to be able to get the skies or snowmobile out this weekend, sorry. Then again, the week’s not over yet. Just give it another five minutes.