How's the weather in Alberta Vic?

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

@Vic Patterson - I can't stand it when its above 20C. 

How are you coping :-

 

[Canny lass]

I'll bet you'll be pleased when that rain comes, Vic!

Grandson has 52 degrees in Mali at the minute.

[Vic Patterson]

I agree, anything above 22c is waisted on me, I'm in the garden 7am or 8pm watering etc, like the plants I wilt in the heat, otherwise it's put down the awning on the south window, and stay inside as much as possible.

Tomorrow I've been asked to drive a wedding couple around town in my old T, I hope it has cooled down by then, July 1st should also be Canada day celebration but it was moved to Saturday (due to Covid) so that may be a parade drive!

Luckily we have a very dry heat so it isn't as bad as in the east where it is humid, but this heat also causes the snow on mountain tops to melt and the rivers are high and if it rains we will have big floods!

Now 52c is a bit too much, but temperature is a bit like age, just a number, it's how you deal with it! Eggy 20c at three in the morning was very welcome.

On the bright side tomorrow in Alberta most of our Covid restrictions are lifted! 

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

2 hours ago, Vic Patterson said:

Now 52c is a bit too much, but temperature is a bit like age, just a number, it's how you deal with it! Eggy 20c at three in the morning was very welcome.

 

When we lived at Cramlington the living room was North facing so in the summer I could potter, and water, the South facing back garden and then come in to cool down - if i could stop the OH from putting the heating on!

Since we moved to Seghill, with a South facing living room I hide in the back of the bungalow and have a 'Stay Cool, Artic Blast' personal air cooler whilst the OH stays in the South facing room, often with windows closed, in the 27c+.

Hope tomorrow's forecast for Alberta - 31c + rain - keeps you and the old T running 🏎️ 

[lilbill15]

Yay! Fingers crossed that it’s not another flash in the (COVID frying) pan 🤞🏻xx

[Vic Patterson]

21 hours ago, lilbill15 said:

Yay! Fingers crossed that it’s not another flash in the (COVID frying) pan 🤞🏻xx

Covid is looking good! and 9am and it's only 22c,  rain forecasted around 2pm.I hope it is an inside wedding! 

[lilbill15]

@Vic Patterson🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻😁🌈xxx

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Morning @Vic Patterson I've been watching a bit of CNN on SKY TV to see how the USA is coping with the heat wave and as well as the USA record temperatures they are reposting on the wildfires in Canada and Alberta is getting a mention.

 

This extract from the CDP (Centre for Disaster Philanthropy) web site :-

[Vic Patterson]

Hi Alan, It has been an extremely bad year for fires and other weather conditions, we only had one local fire which was soon spotted and extinguished , but Alberta has suffered many large out of control fires. Many towns being evacuated, some several times. It started when we got 42c temperatures and no precipitation.

A few of weeks ago I made a trip to the city to visit the family, (great grandson 1st birthday) nearing Edson (250km) it turned dark, actually darker than night! Headlights on, animals on the road, ash falling like snow, Edson was evacuated an hour later for the second time, population about 10,000. four days later on my return trip I was diverted 200km.

Smoke has been a major issue, from our fires and those in British Columbia, sometimes so dense you cannot see down the street, breathing can be difficult especially those with existing breathing conditions. After the worst of fires were over it started raining, lots! The scorched earth could not hold the water, and yes Edson was flooded and evacuated again! Throw in a couple of tornados and yesterday I made a vet trip to Hinton (100km) and drove through 3’’ of slush! (Three weeks ago my potato crop was flattened with snow)

Many remote northern towns only have winter access using ice roads and have no way out other than river or flights

Canada has lost 10 million hectares of forest so far this year, Alberta 2 million. Hmmm I wonder how much % that contributes to "global warming" 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Vic Patterson

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Although we are seeing it, via the news, more frequently it is difficult for us on the NE coast of GB to imagine what residents of many towns throughout the world have to go through when fires and floods hit an area. We think we are suffering if we get a hailstorm, lasting two minutes, cause us to close a window. 

From TV reports it looks like, when there isn't a large lake near the area, the main way to stop large wildfires in forested areas is to create a large gap between the area that is burning and the rest of the forest by either felling the trees or  burning them down in a controlled manner. 

It will no doubt take weeks to get everything under control where you are. 

Although the OH is missing the heat I am delighted the jet stream has dipped under the UK South coast and is cutting the UK off from the current heatwave.

 

Had a look on Google Maps and it looks like you wouldn't have had many towns to stop for rest etc. on your journey to Edson. 

 

One of our daughters and her husband have just recently booked a 17 day trip, including self drive, over Canada for August next year. I will have to find out their full plans and see which areas they are hoping to get to.

 

     

 

 

[Vic Patterson]

Yes the weather is a major consideration in our daily lives, but I wouldn’t change it. The nearest towns are Hinton (100 miles) to the South and Grande Prairie to the North (120 miles) GP is a small city. NOTHING in-between towns, Edson is regarded as our pit stop, it’s half way to Edmonton (area) where our three daughters and their families are scattered around.

Most small fires are first attacked using choppers dumping water, then larger fires get water bombing aircraft. Ground attack teams (heli-tack) is a big part of controlling the fire, cutting fire breaks to steer or extinguish the fires, we have teams from Africa, Australia and USA and other parts of the world. 2016 city of Ft McMurray burned to the ground. Pop 88,000.

Canada 5,500 km east west, 4,500 km north south. One week just driving across, but I’m sure they won’t be driving coast to coast, but they can and would enjoy. I’m the smoke will be gone and they can see everything! Lots to see. Let me know if there is anything I can assist with their trip, (I was thinking of possibly visiting Blyth/Bedlington next August!)

 

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Cheers Vic - I haven't seen the kids planned journey but I know they have picked out places to visit and I will see their full itinerary eventually. At the moment all I know is after they picked out sights to see they then went to the Travel Agents and arranged the 'Pit Stops' through the agents and i believe there is a flight arranged for one place to visit. 

I would love to have been mobile enough to join them on this holiday but will just have to listen, with envy, when they return.

[threegee]

"Centre for Disaster Philanthropy" OMG!  It used to be that wealthy people did good as anonymously as at all possible - their reward was "in heaven".  Am I misunderstanding something here, or is this really another outlet for tedious 21st Century virtue signalling?

Anyway, the great news is that they won't (can't) fly with Mick the Moron.  If you're curious to know why Ryanair doesn't fly The Atlantic (and never will) then I refer you to my answer on another thread.

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Hows it going @Vic Patterson.

The BBC  news keeps mentioning there are thousands of fires in Canada and the nearest place I have heard mentioned to your town of Grand Cache (GC ) is Yellowknife, 130o+ kilometers, where the whole town are evacuating.

As the UK, North to South, is roughly 930+  kilometers it is difficult to understand the logistics of tackling what's happening around GC. No doubt every town in Alberta, Northwest Territories and British Columbia are on high alert.  

 

  

 

[Vic Patterson]

Hi Alan, All is well here in GC I’d raining today, but there are still lots of fires around, mostly under control but many are not, Hay river was recently evacuated 1,500 km, (pop 4,000 mostly indigenous ) now its Yellowknife pop about 20,000. That’s a lot of people to move 1,500 km, very few gas station etc, (definitely no charging stations1) those without transportation are flown out including hospital patients and old folk. Edmonton and Calgary are making reception centres. Many come to GC because of family or other ties.

Edson (10,000)and Drayton Valley (8,000)have been evacuated a few times? 2016 Fort McMurray pop 88,000 burnt down, again a very remote city, it’s been a tough year because of a dry spring , British Columbia  are going through the same but a little later which helps the fire fighters a bit. Unfortunately several fire fighters have lost their lives.

Travel distance and driving time is the first big difference we noticed coming to Canada, it’s a long distance between anywhere and nowhere but what a view!

 

Wildfire status | Alberta.caAlbertahttps://www.alberta.ca ›

 

wildfire-status'Driving through embers': Hay River family flees wildfires in ...CBChttps://www.cbc.ca › news › canada › north › driving-...

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Thanks Vic - those links you posted explain a lot more than the CNN news on SKY goes into.

I also had a Goole search on Sweden forest fires but only found previous years, 2018 & 2022, and no mention of 2023. 

Hows the weather and forests in Sweden @Canny lass?

[Canny lass]

On 19/08/2023 at 11:57, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

Hows the weather and forests in Sweden

The weather is mainly COLD and WET! The forests are also mainly COLD and WET! Nine out of ten forest fires here are caused by people rather than climate so this year there have been much fewer forest fires as people haven't been outdoors BBQing and leaving 'single-use BBQs' to smoulder in anywhere near the usual amount - because of the weather

Of the attached maps the first, mainly blue, shows July rainfall this year. The second, mainly green, shows rainfall this July as a percentage of July rain in the years since 1991. July 2023 must have been, literally, a gift from heaven for the fire brigade!

We did have four days of 'proper' summer weather in June and then the BBQers, and the fire brigade, were out in force.

 

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

45 minutes ago, Canny lass said:

The weather is mainly COLD and WET! The forests are also mainly COLD and WET! Nine out of ten forest fires here are caused by people rather than climate so this year there have been much fewer forest fires as people haven't been outdoors BBQing and leaving 'single-use BBQs' to smoulder in anywhere near the usual amount - because of the weather

 

Just wondered with Google showing 63% of Sweden is covered in forests if you had been affected, like Canada, by rising temperatures this year. 

Canada and Sweden must be on similar latitudes

 

[Canny lass]

22 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

Just wondered with Google showing 63% of Sweden is covered in forests if you had been affected, like Canada, by rising temperatures this year. 

Which "rising temperatures" would that be? Coldest summer I've experienced in almost 40 years here!

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

12 minutes ago, Canny lass said:

Which "rising temperatures" would that be? Coldest summer I've experienced in almost 40 years here!

Trust Sweden to be independent - lets hope it stays colder than the rest of the world and still has xmas trees to export 

[Canny lass]

It's a very small percentage of trees that are exported and we import from Denmark to make up the deficit. There are about 4.5 million households in Sweden and about 3 million of them buy a tree. About 2.8 million of them are Swedish the rest are Danish. Of course, there are plenty of families who don't buy a tree as they own plenty themselves. Funnily enough it's not really acceptable to chop down one of your own so there's a lot of stealing in late December. It usually evens itself out. You take one of somebody else's trees and somebody takes one of yours. Not that I'd ever do anything like that 😇

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

11 minutes ago, Canny lass said:

......................... You take one of somebody else's trees and somebody takes one of yours. Not that I'd ever do anything like that 😇

"The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away" Book of Job (Job 1:21)

[Canny lass]

On 23/08/2023 at 20:13, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

"The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away" Book of Job (Job 1:21)

"and Lord help anyone who taketh the tree I've had my eye on since early October" Book of CL (CL 1:1)

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/10/18/canada-historic-2023-wildfire-season-end/

 

[Vic Patterson]

-7c and snowing! Yes most of the fires are out Alan, a few are still burning but not causing any problems. Everyone has returned to their homes, at least those who didn't loose them in the fires, and finally the smoke has gone, I think! I'll check when it stops snowing. Like yourselves we have just had some high winds, I hope they were the ones we usually get at Halloween! 

It was a beautiful fall.