cheeky_monkey

This is the first time i have seen an Alaskan high modeled all winter which is a good thing...however is deep FI so take no notice

when approx does the annual maximum occur?

Oh but they do!..that's the thing what you have to remember most buildings including most commercial buildings are timber framed over here..so fires are fairly common place all year round...and when they happen in the depths of winter hey presto you end up with scenes like you saw in Chicago.

Winter 2010-2011 was exceptionally snowy in Edmonton Alberta and relatively cold...something like 135 ice days between Mid October and the end of March and 165 days of lying snow from Mid October to end of April.

4.2c average kind of month no extreme cold no extreme mild either

i would be concerned if i were you with what is and has been happening across the pacific and N America...the pattern has become locked into a rinse and repeat cycle that statred to set up about 4 weeks ago...and is having a knock on effect acroos the atlantic hence the shift to a more mobile pattern. there is no hint of a pattern change over here...no hint of the Alaskan high which can aid height rises around Greenland etc the pv is locked in over eastern Canada and western Greenland and is going no where..thers is a big high pressure cell of the Vancouver and western US coast which is again not moving and underpinning the whole set up across N America.

yes every winter!!...you ever lived in Edmonton???

This would happen every winter where i used to live in Edmonton..so much so it wasn't even newsworthy

no i was referring to Alberta in Western Canada..looks decidedly wet and cold yet again

Looks like another cold wet spring here...think i might have to emigrate.

Spring really doesn't start here until about the 3rd week in April and last about 6 weeks..i dislike Spring here as they tend to be cold and wet.

It amazes me that people often dont look at what is happening over North America and the north western Pacific when model watching for Europe.

Now i must confess to not knowing a great deal technically about SSW effects..but judging by the dates of the warmings shown..many were the precursor to milder weather as much to colder weather..now if there is lag involved as well then some dont fit the cold spell that followed as they were already underway or started a few days after...my philosophy is that SSW encourage pressure to rise in northern latitudes but where that happens can be hit or miss and can result in mild or cold weather..dont forget where its gets colder somewhere else in the northern hemisphere will get milder.

Queue the floods of dissent on this one.

Welcome to my world! in fact 6 months of snow on the ground isnt unusual..it just becomes the norm like rain in the UK is you just take no notice of it anymore.

I think you have hit the nail on the head...your age will have an effect on your perception of Winters..im old enough to remember the harsh winters of the late 70s and 80s and the events of 2009 -10 were nothing to extreme compared to the winters back then..just a case of swings and roundabouts.

i Think most people who post in this section live in Canada..as for the US pretty much an East/West split coming up soon East becoming very cold and potentially very snowy..West mild dry and relatively sunny.

Exceptional cold through the eastern seaboard of the states and Canada stays mild here out west

It has turned very mild in the last 24 hrs was +4c when i got up this morning..could reach +10c tomorrow and Thursday. I am going to let the snow that fell yesterday melt on my drive rather than getting the shovel out again!

Correct me if i am wrong but SSW events do not guarantee cold and snow...just an increased tendency for northern blocking to occur..now that could be anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere..its has coincided with a rapid warm up about to occur in Western Canada not that i am complaining.

yes agree with this i have been shoveling snow since the beginning of Oct and just had another 25-30cm in the last few days its really quite depressing...that's the thing with Alberta too much snow in the winter and too many storms in the summer..i might have to start a no breezy, sunshine and showers club for us Expats!

Hey CC good to be back....getting a bit of a pasting snow wise today which wasn't forecast..has been relatively mild since i got back last Friday this is the 1st cold day since i been back currently -12c and falling..got to +9c yesterday after lunch went out without a coat..just spent the last 15 mins digging my car out!

Funny you mention snow blowers..i had one when i lived in Edmonton..and i never figured out how to work the damn thing!..i remember In Jan 2011 Edmonton had its worst snow storm in 20 years and it dumped over 50cm in a cpl days and i was shoveling the drive 3 times a day for 2/3 days it was horrible back breaking work.

i had a big squall line swung through yesterday evening the temp dropped from +9c to -8c in the space of a cpl hours and dumped 10cm snow at the same time...means got shovel the drive when i get home from work boo!..least i wont be shoveling 45cm of snow

The colder it gets the less moisture the air can hold hence its snows very little in the arctic or antarctic during the winter hence esp the antarctic is classed as a desert