I was going to talk about something completely different but how can I avoid the obvious? The &*%$^#! cold! We are talking about that kind of cold where you nostrils freeze shut when you breathe in; that cold! Many areas of Canada and the upper United States have been gripped in the icy clutches of a cold snap for a couple of weeks now. This area of arctic air stretches from the Yukon in the north to almost as far south as Florida with its main focus of frigid fury seemingly the Prairies, Ontario, and Quebec. There have not been such temperatures at this time of year since 1993 – and that one did not last as long as this year’s.

Canadians, as a breed, are a hearty bunch of people and this weather phenomenon seems to have prompted us to continually prove this point. (Although I think the majority are thinking, ok, Mother Nature, we get it. You are all powerful. We bow to your greatness. Could you please warm us up even if it’s just 10 degrees?). Watching the news will show you all the cool things (pun completely intended) that this extreme weather can produce and the strange stories that come along with it.

You can see videos of people throwing boiling water into the air and making snow (see our attempts at that here) and watching soap bubbles freeze almost in an instant (we did this too, here). I have seen photos of ramen noodles frozen instantly in midair; people’s faces and parkas with so much frost on it that it is hard to see their expressions; and so much water vapour coming from the buildings in Edmonton that it looks as if the whole city is smoking. There are many different things to attempt in this crazy weather (stay tuned to our videos to see what else we get up to) if you are willing to face the freezer that is our outside world.

Niagara Falls has turned into a crystalline spectacle with all the surrounding area encapsulated in ice. The falls themselves have not frozen but there is ice that has formed over parts of the falls with the water continuing to flow under it. The temperature would have to drop a heck of a lot lower to actually completely freeze the falls; there is just too much water with too much force behind it to freeze solid.

Here in Ottawa, we set record lows and have been the coldest capital in the world for a number of days beating out places like Moscow, Astana, and Ulan Bator. I am SO glad of this because who doesn’t want to say Ulan Bator over and over again? (Side note: Ulan Bator is the capital of Mongolia and is one the top ten places I would love to see. Mongolia has a post-soviet vibe with beautiful scenery and a nomadic people that ride little horses. Why wouldn’t I want to go there?) The temperatures have been so low that the New Year’s Eve festivities on Parliament Hill were cancelled although if you were so inclined, you could skate on the rink there.

At the Calgary Zoo this week, the penguins had to be moved inside because it was just too cold for them. I loved this headline because it conjures up visions of it being colder than the Antarctic but no, these penguins were not of that persuasion. These were sub-Antarctic King Penguins that are found in the wilds of Chile and Argentina so are not accustomed to that particular kind of BRR.

And why is it as cold as it is right now? From time to time, the weather does get crazy but the extreme weather right now may have a lot to do with climate change. As the Arctic gets warmer, the changing temperatures can have an effect on the jet stream which usually acts a barrier to keep the arctic air in the northern latitudes. In theory, the warming of the arctic puts stress on the jet stream’s ability to keep all that really cold air contained up where it belongs. When the jet stream falters, it allows that polar air to sneak through. Consequently, if you are freezing your miscellaneous body parts off, you can thank global warming.

Although we are a brave, hearty bunch of Great White North dwellers, the weather may be starting to affect the Canadian mood. There has even been a case of two men getting into an altercation over snow removal in Simcoe, Ontario. They have been charged with causing a disturbance after getting into a fight while clearing snow on Christmas Day. Ho Ho Ho, indeed.

There is good news ahead with a slight rise in temperatures expected by the end of January. (This will be back to normal levels, not into the balmy 20’s.That would be a whole new topic for a blog.) If you want something even warmer than that, may I suggest that you do what any good winter-surviving Canadian does? Go south. Just remember, you will have to go a little bit farther than Florida.

–Janice Willson

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