White Friday! (4)

Shirley Hung & Others

15 January 2014

Metis Hon: OK, by the sound of it and by the look of the thermometers, and TV news, it’s extremely bloody cold.

But number and look are somewhat meaningless to me who hasn’t experienced real cold.

I had been up to the mountain here skiing and it was bloody cold. That’s largely because we were under-clothed.

So can you give me some parallels and examples to illustrate just how cold it is.

Do you still have running water or are the water pipes frozen?

Does your toilet still flush?

Are you warm and comfy when indoors?

Can people still go to work by their own cars or public transport?

Do shops and facilities still open?

How long can you stay outside before you get frost-bites?

Will it get colder when the snow starts to thaw?

Does the city shut-down like when a typhoon strikes in HK?

I’d love to know.

Stella Tse: Metis - We are Canada, so we should be quite well adjusted to cold weather.

But due to the extreme conditions lately, even the hundreds of snow plows / sanders are not enough..

The ice storm was something very unusual that caused hydro outages and tree branches falling off which will take 2 months to clean up and costing millions.

Some people also experience frozen water pipes like my in-laws.

Subway malfunctions quite a number of times.

Airport couldn't handle the cold, refuelling & de-icing takes much longer thus contributing to a very bad back log which is still going on.

We all try to live our winter life the best we can, dress up more, cover the head, drive carefully etc.

It is not as bad as it sounds though, as people still go to work, go shopping everywhere, just have to make adjustments accordingly.

Peter Cheung: Yeh, It is a matter of preparedness and adjustments. If Winter Grandpa lingers on longer or move South more, we will encounter most of the effects you described.

Once every 10-20 years it is ok! Next week daffodils may be creeping up. At least SJ is not Buffaloo or Rochester where the snow hills last until May.

Tim Fook: Metis - You have prepared yourself for skiing so you are happy with the snow environment.

just like what Peter and Stella said. We have prepared for the cold weather but the mother nature remind us the critical situation by a lesson. Life goes on but we have to alternate/modify the steps in coping with the bad weather.

Now, I am waiting for Municipal Office to remove 3 piles of debris and fallen branches.

This summer, I have less trees to shade my house and I would feel hotter.

Stella Tse: Today it's -5C, it feels like spring! It's funny how we perceive things.

-To be continued-