Fog That Wraps Around Vancouver

There's been some dramatic photos of Vancouver these days

Vancouver has had over a week of fog, a very unusual occurrence, and hopefully tomorrow evening will be the last day. Environment Canada has issued fog advisory warnings for pedestrians and motorists to be careful on the roads because at times there can be zero visibility.

The fog is caused by a ridge of high pressure, trapping moisture; one meteorologist explained it like steam trapped in a pot covered with a lid. In the past several days there has been hardly any wind to blow the fog away.

The Lions Gate Bridge enveloped in fog

As a result Vancouverites have been hearing a lot of foghorns, as ships depend on them to navigate waterways when there is limited visibility.

"In restricted visibility situations, such as on foggy days, these international regulations require anchored ships to sound their horn every minute and transiting ships to sound their horn every two minutes," explained Port of Vancouver spokesperson Sarah Matek.

Driving around the city enveloped with fog can be daunting at times, with some areas where you can hardly see anything, and others are clear. By evening the fog rolls in again and driving in the dark without cars in front of you can also be kind of scary. 

Last night an Uber driver told me of other motorists crossing the road lines into incoming traffic because they couldn't see where they were going!

The fog may dissipate by Thursday night

That said it's been a boon for photographers, both amateur and professional to take some dramatic shots of Vancouver.

Picture of the Day: Hail in August

Golfball-sized hail in Calgary today -- in August!

When I saw pictures of snow in Calgary on Twitter, I didn't believe it at first -- until I heard the news report on the radio saying there were reports of hail -- in August -- and rainfall in southern Alberta tonight.

One thunderstorm produced hail the size of golfballs that cause severe damage to car windshields. 

"This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation," a post read on Environment Canada's website.

"Extremely large hail can smash windows, destroy property and vehicles and cause life-threatening injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles."

The hail and heavy rainfall were so bad that they caused damage in the domestic terminal building of YYC Calgary International Airport. 

"We are prioritising the safety of all guests and staff and clearing the impacted area. We are currently assessing the damage and its impact to operations," read a statement, adding that no injuries have been reported at this time.

The damage, which included ceiling panels falling down, has resulted in delays and cancellations in flights. 

Another sign that climate change is definitely here? How much longer can Alberta Premier Danielle Smith deny it? Devastating wildfires in Jasper and now golfball-sized hail in August?

Watery Weather Woes

The continuous downpour in Vancouver has been depressing

Since the massive snowfall ended last week, Vancouver has been soaking wet. It was great to have the rain help melt the snow away quickly, but now the endless rain is pretty depressing.

And this weekend Environment Canada has warned that heavy rainfall could cause flooding in parts of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and Metro Vancouver.

The heaviest rainfall is expected between Sunday night and Monday.

Lots of snow paralysed parts of the city

Not only that, but warmer temperatures mean freezing levels will be higher. What would freeze at 2,000 metres, will now freeze at between 2,500 to 3,000 metres.

That means rain and now snow on local mountains. It was so bad that Mount Seymour had to close today (Saturday) because of weather, while on Grouse Mountain, lessons after 1pm were cancelled. Cypress Mountain was the only one fully open.

This year's ski season has been a washout. Literally.

On a bright note, yesterday I managed to get a walk in the forest without a drop of precipitation. However, about two hours later as forecasted, it began to rain and it has not let up since.

What a January! Freezing temperatures, massive snowfall and now a deluge of rain...