Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow?
It seems our snowfall for the year isn’t finished yet. Environment Canada and the Weather Network predict more snow is going to fall in March. I’m positive I’m not the only one sick of all the snow. This winter has been particularly cruel in terms of snow dumping.
However, despite the urge to constantly complain, complaining won’t do much good. While it might eventually help improve snow removal and sanding processes in the city, it can also get us down in terms of our moods. We have had so much snow this year that it can get us down too. That makes finding the positives in our lives that much more important to at least try to make the rest of the winter bearable.
So my take on it is to do the best we can to cope with it and do something productive instead.
I know this isn’t easy, especially after such a long and brutal winter. It feels like it’s never-ending. While crews are busy cleaning streets, our roads are still very icy and dangerous to drive on. Snow is piling up on the sides of the road. It doesn’t seem like enough work is being done even though crews are out regularly.
The snowstorm last weekend was brutal. Many people were stranded in other locations in southern Saskatchewan, unable to get to their destination. Environment Canada stated we received approximately 14 centimeters of snow. Between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning RCMP responded to almost 200 calls regarding vehicle collisions. Visibility and conditions were bad.
Even careful drivers could’ve been caught in a collision for venturing out into horrid conditions. In the wake of the storm, people are quite vocal in terms of how bad the snow removal and sanding process is in the city. Accidents are happening because of icy roads. Sometimes they can’t be avoided.
And sometimes they can. More careful driving from everybody, not just a select few, would certainly help. More sand on the roads and better snow removal would also help. Reckless driving only makes the scenarios worse. Good driving and better upkeep of the roads in winter are two positive things we can do to cope with the snow. After all it doesn’t appear that our snowfall for the winter is finished yet.
If you’re an outdoors person getting outside to enjoy some winter sports is a great way to take the edge off. But if you’d rather stay inside, then there is nothing wrong with drinking a hot drink to warm up the body. Just as long as you’re sure to get enough sunlight per day to keep your health up, you’re in good shape.
For me the biggest positive of the prospective snowfall to occur in March is that March is typically the tail end of snowfall. While snowstorms have been known to occur in the Prairies in May, the days are still getting longer and the snow won’t last too, too much longer.
The Weather Network is calling for an average spring. Instead of focusing on the likely snowfall we’re going to see yet this month, we should focus on knowing the weather will, at some point, improve as it always does.
After all, in the words of Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent from the 2008 movie The Dark Knight, “The night is darkest before the dawn.”
