Snow scene from December

 We did have some snow here in the BC lower mainland before Christmas but it was soon gone.  These photos were taken on the 12th of December, 2013.  Within a couple of days it was mostly gone and traces of it gone soon after.

 Enjoy the photos, and Happy New Year and all the best for 2014!

- Volker

snowstorm of November 2006

Back in November 2006 there was a snowstorm that started on the 20th and continued through the weekend. That was my first year in British Columbia's lower mainland after moving out here from southwestern Ontario. When the snow stopped falling, I took a series of photos which you see here. Back east this sort of thing is normal, so the snow can be moved and cleared within 2 - 3 days and in a lot less time if its a minor snowfall.

I did some research on the internet afterward and found that this sort of thing was normal about 50 years ago. People here have been lulled into a false sense of acceptence by higher than normal temperatures and the lack of snow. So with the lack of equipment to move the snow, side streets remained snowbound for over a week. The parking lot where I lived was never ploughed and the management left it for nature to melt the snow. Such scenes were common in the area.

I was living in north Surrey with 104th Avenue and 148th Street being the main intersection nearby. That's where this series of photos was taken after the snow stopped falling. I'll let the images speak for themselves.

I allowed a blogger friend in San Francisco to post the you see photo above. This was before I started blogging myself in February 2007. There first few photos show a rather dull looking landscape but the mood changes once the sun makes an appearance where it shines through a break in the cloud cover to the south. So are we ready to handle such a storm if it happens during the winter olympics? I rather doubt it but we'll see. Enjoy the photos and feel free to comment! - V.

first snow

Over the weekend (Dec 12 - 13) we had the first snow here in New Westminster, well, snow that stayed for a bit. Its all been washed away by the rain that came during the week but here are a few photos that were taken during a walk late in the afternoon Sunday before it got dark. The walk took me over to Queens Park and then back home. As you can tell, the kids take no proding to get out to enjoy the new snow! There are a few photos of scenes in the park and then the Christmas lights and other interesting features at a condo complex across from the park. I'll let the photos speak for themselves, so enjoy! - V.

Early January scenes from Burnaby Mountain

Last Wednesday I went up to the top of Burnaby Mountain after finishing work at 8am. The #135 bus goes to Simon Fraser University (SFU) and from there I took the trail to the west end of the mountain. The weather looked promissing when I left work but the breaks in the cloud cover began to close as I reached my destination. Oh well. These photos will show you the scene that morning with cloud and all, even some snow on the mountain. We are expecting some sunshine after all these weeks of overcast and rainy weather. This will allow me to take some photos giving a different mood to the scene.

Snow in Surrey (Again!)

This was the scene early this afternoon as I looked out my dining room window which faces east. So once again the weather is throwing us some twists. Then the fog started to roll in. Now both have stopped but it is still overcast. I wonder whether Al Gore winning an award for "An Inconvenient Truth" and my doing research on glaciology last night had anything to do with it? Ah, probably just coincidental. What are your thoughts on climate change?