Snow

Here in Saskatoon it‘s not unusual to have snow lying on the ground for five or six months of the year, and although wonderful for winter sports, it can also be dangerous for driving and walking, and a pain to shovel (unless you have neighbourhood snow angels).  We have, however, to cope with it, so I decided to do a little research.

Snow begins as water that crystallizes in the earth’s atmosphere, and can develop or grow by a build up water vapour freezing on the original crystals, direct freezing of super cooled water, and by collision of crystals.  The size of a snowflake depends partly on how far it has fallen and how many collisions it has had that stick.

Canada receives more snow than any other country.  According to currentresults.com the place with the highest annual average snowfall in Canada is Mount Fidelity in Glacier National Park with 1471 cm or 48 feet.  The largest one day snowfall occurred at Tahtsa Lake West, B.C. on February 11, 1999 with 145 cm.  I certainly feel better about the relatively light accumulation I`ve had to shovel so far this year.

A couple of new words (for me) for types of snow:

·         Corn snow – pellets the size of corn kernels

·         Graupel - snow pellets, also known as hail

Winter is a time I like to hibernate a little, read lots, watch some movies or old favourite TV shows, write.  I do find it important to get out and walk as well, however, to keep up my spirits, even if the sky is grey, the ground white, and I feel as if I’m inside a huge blank space.  I put on my long underwear, add a sweater and lined blue jeans, put on the big parka, wrap a scarf, put on gloves and boots.  Oh and don’t forget the spikes because the streets are slippery.

haiku

early morning walk

creates fresh tracks in new snow --

brief indentations

Book Recommendation: Smilla`s Sense of Snow or Miss Smilla`s Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg, published in 1992, and made into a movie in 1997 (I haven`t seen the movie).  It`s ostensibly a thriller, but has lots of psychological and conspiracy overtones, as well as a unique point of view.  Smilla, who is half Danish and half Greenlander, investigates the death of a neighbour boy (also born in Greenland) who fell off the roof.  She doesn`t believe it was an accident and ends up following the trail aboard a ship to an island off Greenland.

Check out this website from the University of Regina: http://uregina.ca/~sauchyn/geog327/snow.html