Carrick to Calgary

It's 6pm here on a Thursday night, on the second day of the Big Freeze of '05. Yesterday's blizzard cleared at about 9am, and I went to work while P stayed home. It was -27 all day, with only a little snow lying, but with the high winds the windchill was down to -40. The Jeep got plugged in all day in the car park to make sure it stayed warm, as you can't really expect your car to start when it's that cold. The walk from the car park to the hospital was pretty nasty - it's just amazingly cold, and it starts to seep into you after only a few seconds. You can feel your leg muscles starting to slow up, the feeling in your fingers goes even though you have gloves on, and the wind tries to get in under your toque to nip at your ears. You have to breathe through your scarf to protect your nose and face from frostbite. After 2 minutes, you really want to be indoors again, fast!


Plugged in (as soon as you arrive)


Plugged Out (Home Time)

The city is coping OK, though. Most people have managed to get to work, and most patients have got in for their operations etc. A lot of schools have been closed for the rest of the week until it gets a bit warmer. There have been a lot of car accidents and burst water mains and at least one person has died from exposure downtown. There was also a big fire in the north-west (in Bowness) yesterday, and several firemen had to be treated for exposure. I drove past it on the Trans-Canada while it was burning (flames up to rooftop level), and it took several hours to get it under control - how can you put a fire out when the water is freezing in the hoses? Our trusty IN/OUT THERMOCLOCK (TM) has finally met its match, though. It got as low as -23.5 and then refused to go any further. Then it decided it was all too much and switched to --.-



Today was even colder again, if you can believe it! The Jeep said it was -35 on the way in to work, with a windchill down to -45! Yowch! The drive in was OK though, no fresh snow, and another rapid run into the hospital.



Everyone's furnace (aka boiler) is on all the time, as you can see:



We've been getting some spectacular sunrises these last few days:



and sunsets:



So we're expecting it to get a little warmer over the next few days, maybe warming up to a heady -20 by the weekend, heading for single figures next week and then maybe into the positives for a day or two if the forecast Chinook arrives this day next week (+5: Wow!)

We've also received proof copies of the new notes designed by the Northern Bank - have you seen these men? Please call Crimestoppers if you have any information, contact Families for Northern Bank Justice or phone Mothers of the Disappeared Tenners.


Something for the Volunteers


The Royal Bank of Martin