S.O.S Rob Love: Shilo Manitoba
 

Dear Rob: My question tonight.....with the M.O.A.S.S. (MOTHER OF ALL SNOW STORMS) bearing down on you in the next 24 hrs., what vehicle will you drive to survive your catastrophe??? Do we need to contact Phil Waterman for superior advise on winter driving? Please let us all know, as we're all deeply concerned. :cheers: Robert

Out of an abundance of caution, I cancelled my roadtrip to Calgary for today. At work yesterday, an email went out to all saying to use best judgement in the morning, but take some work home to do and basically see you on Tuesday. As civil servants, we already had Friday and Monday off for Easter.

There was no snow as I called it a night last night. I woke up once or twice through the night and did not hear the 70km winds necessary to call it a blizzard. As I look out on my deck now, we have a whopping 1/4 inch of snow.

The forecast is for 30 to 50 cm of snow, with 80cm possible in some spots. It had better hurry up, as it looks like I missed my trip over this. I'll be heading in to work in a couple hours, and make a judgement call through the day. The news last night said the RCMP were closing the highways in anticipation of this event, but I checked the road report and all appear to still be open.

I drive a RAM2500 with 4wheel drive and a winch. There are no trees around here, so the winch is for hooking onto other vehicles, not mine. If crap truly hits the fan, I can select one of the 6x6 trucks out in the lineup, although none are road registered. But when the weather gets bad enough, nobody will check. The tractor is already on the driveway just in case, there are 4 gas cans filled up with 2 in the garage and 2 out in the shed, some water cans filled, and extra wood brought in to the house for the woodstove. The flashlight batteries are all charged up. The generator is out in the shed, so if power does go out for an extended period, it needs to be dragged to the house and plugged into the panel.

At this point it all appears to be overkill, but we'll see what the day brings. Newspapers need to sensationalize to sell papers....like every next wave of covid, this may be one of those instances. While everyone at this point thinks we are having a major snow event, at this point it is basically what we here in Manitoba call a typical Wednseday morning.


Here is a link to a camera on the trans-Canada highway west of Brandon: https://www.manitoba511.ca/en/cameras/brandon.html
As can be seen, at this point the roads are pretty bare. Closer to Winnipeg they do have a little snow, but nothing like what was forecast at this point.

If you are on the way to Calgary and pass through Regina I am here and can help if you need any assistance. I have trucks and a tow bar and tools and some room to work on stuff. Eddy

Thanks for the offer, but I'm not going anywhere. The base has stated "essential workers only" which isn't me. So I will head out to the shop, start the fire, and work from home maintaining my welding skills.

The snow is starting to accumulate a little, and it is wet heavy snow, so at some point we could conceivably lose power. Visibility is down a little...can't see the neighbors tractor at the far end of our yard, but at this point it is still nothing unusual.

Kind of a shame. We were at the point where the few piles of snow from the winter had just a few days of life left to most of them. There was even some green starting to show up here and there. But now it is white as far as one can see.

Green???
 

Rob

This is Canada and it is still April so Mother Nature can still have Her fun with us. And green, in April, in Manitoba is high hopes, isn't it?

Stay safe and warm.

Gord

The wife and I were just admiring the green starting to come up on the grain field as we were driving by it a day or two ago. I have seen the odd year where the farmers were planting already, as opposed to the old somewhat safe rule that you waited for Victoria day. I fully expected to see the crocuses pop out of the ground any day now, but I guess they will wait another week or two.

I took a drive up the road just now to fuel up the truck. I now have to concede, it's a blizzard. Not too much snow aside from a few drifts (like the 2 foot one going into my quonset), but ice and snow covered road, and very limited visibility. The visibility is bad enough that you are unsure if it is safe to pull onto the highway, as there will still be dumb-asses driving at 90 despite the road and visibility conditions.


Attached is a current photo from the same spot I showed 4 posts up.

Mother Nature can really throw a curve. My tulips are already beginning to fade. :)

Well we not only have those flowers in full bloom, but also watermelon trees, potato bushes, and peanut shrubs. If you squint real hard in the attached (and most recent photo in the same spot as the previous two) you can just make them out.

And to think I almost fired up the lawnmower today to mow the lawn. It was about 20 Celsius out but then it rained. Maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for that tidbit of info Jordan. Makes me feel so much better that others also have weather problems.

The Robins came back to our area today. We had about 30 of them in our trees. They picked the wrong day to come back. A bunch hid out on our deck, including one who sat on one of the deckchair arms for hours. We put out a box of seeds, but it was the sparrows and chickadees that came for those. I think robins eat grubs and worms.....we are fresh out, and they will be waiting a few days for the ground to show up again.

Robins are ruthless carnivores. Give them your last supply of meat. You and the misses can live on seeds. 'Til the storm passes....

Today has moved from blizzard warnings to storm warning. We have snow forecast for most of the days between now and a week from now.

As blizzards go, this one was pretty tame overall. I still see cars heading down the highway. While it is not over yet, I think I can say this blizzard/storm doesn't even rate in the top 20 for Manitoba blizzards.

Attached is a photo from the same corner shown in previous posts. Also a screenshot of the weather for the week. Normals for this time of the year should be around +9°C.

Glad to help and also to report that the rain held off today, sun came out and so did the lawn mower for the first cut of the year. I even took the blade off and sharpened it up for the season. I will say it was slightly cooler today due to the wind.

Well I guess that is the bright side of all this....I won't need to cut any grass for a while yet.

The blizzard is over, but we do have several days of regular snow this week with minor accumulations. As I look out in my all-white yard, it is easy to forget that just 3 days ago there was almost no snow left.

Wife put seeds out for the regular birds, and cut up some grapes and apples for the robins. We had dozens on dozens of both on the deck, much to the delight of both the wife and the cat. The cat did not move from the patio door all day.

So we survived another one, although in the end it was not nearly the mega-blizzard they said it was going to be. Tomorrow they will reopen the highways after plowing and sanding, and life will return to normal. And in a week or two, with any luck, the snow will be gone again.

...and the mosquitos in full bloom...

Other areas of Manitoba, yes....lots of mosquitos. But here in Shilo, the armpit of Canada, we do not have mosquitos, since there is no water for them to hatch in. The nearest water is many miles away. We are almost prairie desert. I have trees in my yard that were planted before we bought this place 20 years ago. Some are still only a foot tall, some actually made it to 5 feet. This is not what many would consider arable land, other than potatoes. It is a hard life here for both trees and mosquitos.

Rob, I assume then, that your not in the middle of a real estate boom?
Btw, as mosquitos kill more people than anything else, you live in a safe place????

When I bought this place, there was just one house and one shed. Now there is one house and 10 sheds, with an 11th yet to be assembled. That is kind of a boom.

There is some west nile in the mosquitos in Manitoba, so some deaths and sickness that goes along with it. But in this area, there are no poisonous snakes, spiders, or dangerous animals. We do see the occasional bear maybe once every 5 years, but they are always in a hurry to be somewhere else. Wolves and coyotes are generally afraid of human activity. But the one thing that will get you, if you let it, is the cold. It is merciless, and can kill you in about half an hour if you are unprepared or do something stupid.

Dodge Ram be Damned!
 

Rob and Company: Sorry to be late in staying with this commentary...health problems, but firstly I thought you'd be out there in a Ford CMP ("Furd" as they say in parts of Ontario), Chains on, 4 wheel drive just a purrring....just kickin' ass and takin' numbers..... tearing through the snow!! But nooooo....RAM 2500 AND in a Ford Garage, really Rob...very disappointed. You know, you are the Pope of Fords! There's a young fella in New Hampshire knows how to handle WW11 vehicles and snow. Course then, he drives Chevrolets. SAY NO MORE....
Anyway, hope you weather out this prairie dilemma (bad pun!) And I know what you mean by cold, being an ol' Alberta boy. For those around the world who have never experienced cold, Rob is right...it'll kill you quick!
Cheers for now....Robert :cheers:

Sounds very uneventful! How can you go looking for CMPs in a place like that?

Been hot here this weekend.

It's a balmy -3°C out now, and the snow is melting a little. But just to add some misery to our pretty safe lives, we are going down to -16 overnight and have another 10 to 15cm of snow for tomorrow with a gentle 20km breeze. Then there is more snow on Tuesday and Wednesday.



The good news is we are, day at a time, getting closer to June. We hardly ever get snow in June.

There is no RAM in the Ford garage....the Ram is too high to fit into the door. I have the RAM because of it's engine. It is the second Dodge Ram I have owned with the Cummins. They are made to pull, and will accelerate with a full trailer going up a hill. There is no substitute for the power and reliability of the Cummins.

If I were in the more Liberalesque areas like Toronto or Vancouver, then obviously I would have some puny 1/4 ton pickup truck, otherwise the treehuggers would be having fits. But out here on the prairies, a full size+ pickup truck is kind of a requirement.

There are a few chevs in the yard as well......the 76 5/4 ton, the wife's corvette, and the two MLVWs have Detroit 8.2l engines. As well, there is a Cadillac in the Penguin and a 6.2 in the HMMWV. There is also a GMC deuce. So I have my share of chevs to keep me busy and the drain pans occupied. But when it comes to CMPs, there is just no comparison between the clapped out Chev stovebolt 6 and the beauty and magnificent purr of the Ford Flathead.

Amen!
 

:note: Robert

Get the chains on your Lawnmower Jordan
 

Parts of southern Ontario about to be hit by spring snowstorm. This is when it will start

We were done with the snowstorm, so sent the remnants to Ontario. Will Toronto have to call out the army (again) for this one? Better get the tire chains out for your lawnmower Jordan.

I think I'll just wait until morning and look out the window to see what really happens. I can find plenty to stress over without adding advance "the sky is falling" weather forecasts to the list....

So I am reviving this old thread form one year ago (Easter). Last year I was getting ready for the gun and militaria show two provinces over and the weather reports made me cancel. In the end, the reports were much ado about nothing.


Flash now to the present. I am getting ready for the trip to the Easter show, and we got a reasonable dump today. At one point, I coudl not see to the end of my yard. There are some 18" drifts here and there, but certainly nothing devastating. I get into the house tonight, look at the weather forecast, and they have added another storm warning.


So after last years fiasco, I am not cancelling my trip. If I can make it the 100 or so kms out of Manitoba, it will all be clear sailing from there.



I do have to ask: Why do I live in this god forsaken province?

The definition of Canadian optimism.

I’m in as well……………
 

Will pick up Alan at 6:00 am and start heading your way. Should be at your place by 9:00 am. Have to stop at Tim Hortons along the way for a mobile Canadian breakfast!
We had wind here and a skiff of snow but no drifts.
I’m looking at the weather and we have a 90 percent chance of snow on Wednesday. Of course, the day we leave for Calgary. Don’t care, I fixed the 4x4 in my truck so I’ll plough through anything my bald tires will take me!
Let the adventure begin.
Derk

They had the main highway closed overnight and until at least 10 this morning. I see it is open now.
Come Wednesday, if we have to drive at 50kmh to get out of this province we will. Regina, although cold, is not forecast to have snow. Calgary will be +7 and going to be +14 by Saturday. T-shirt weather.



Brandon should rise to +8 by the time we get back Sunday. It will be the first + temperatures we have seen since Valentines day. Actually, I didn't see that; I was in Mexico.



Just finished my lunch and time to run the snowblower for a bit to start prepping the shop area for vehicle movement.

Meanwhile in the uk, 5mm of snow will result in schools closing and grid-locked roads!