The power of the weather

St. Vital

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/03/2024 (904 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The weather is erratic these days. Overall, the planet is warming and this winter has certainly been warmer than normal. Yet last winter was a different story — it was long and cold. A recent newscast reported that last January, a higher percentage of the U.S. was covered with snow cover than ever before… strange!

Last week, Environment Canada predicted the possibility of up to 40 cm of in Manitoba. That is a lot — nearly 18 inches — and it was predicted to partly happen on March 4. While that amount of snow never fully materialized here in Winnipeg, it did hit hard to our west. But the date had me thinking about another March 4 a long time ago.

The year was 1966. I was 13 years old and the images are still vivid. It was epic.

Approximately 38 cm of snow fell in what was then called “the storm of the century.” The wind blew so hard — up to 113 km/h that our home on Portland Avenue in St. Vital had drifts at the back that rose right to the roof of the house. You could literally climb up the snow bank and walk onto the roof. Fortunately, the wind blew the front door almost clear so we could access our home. It took days to shovel that hard-packed snow as we cleared a tunnel to the back door. There was nowhere to throw the snow so each shovelful had to be carried down the driveway, almost to the street.

The most fun I had the day of the storm was when I tried to walk the two blocks to St. Mary’s Road to greet my dad, who was coming home early from work on the bus. There were no cars on the road, of course, with six-metre-high snowdrifts, and I vividly remember climbing up a dune of snow and then sliding down the other side to bare road until the next snow dune arose. It was fun but exhausting, and I never made it to St. Mary’s before I turned around to get home in one piece.

In 1997, 48 cm of snow fell during storm lasted from April 5 to 8. That record snowfall led to the “flood of the century” a month later. (We love our titles!)

We have had our share of storms in Winnipeg over the years and no doubt we will face others in the future. But we live in Manitoba, we have learned how to manage, and even when the temperature drops, we will confidently proclaim that it is “just a dry cold.” And, hey, this is March. Spring is right around the corner.

Stay warm and stay safe!