Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

FTLComm - Winnipeg - April 4, 1999

After having experience a surprise snow attack on Thursday Saturday nights assault was anticipated but perhaps a bit on the excessive. Around 6:00 Saturday night it began to rain but within minutes the rain was replaced with ice pellets and then wet snow that latches on to everything. Sunday morning revealed this amazing not quite weather environment. The high water content of the snow on the ground makes for a frozen under layer and the stuff is heavy.

The pictures on this page were taken at 7:30 this morning and show what the city is like. It is surprising how so few trees have been damaged by the sticky moisture.

Of course large amounts of precipitation like this falling on the Winnipeg flood basin always get the alarms going. People here have a heightened awareness of water flow and all news papers had articles about the Thursday snow fall and how this will affect the cresting of the various rivers in the area that seem every so often to expand beyond their normal courses. I noticed on one of the nearby American television channels that they even gave depth reports on all of the flowing water in the area with expected crests and depths.

My guess is that this snowfall is much more the sort of thing one would expect in Calgary or Eastern Canada. It is not typical of Western Canada to have this volume of precipitation at this temperature.

The snow sitting on the limbs or painted on a side of a tree or post is novel to a person who lives on the prairies but in terms of photography it certainly creates some dramatic images.

The picture of the car (below) is particularly interesting, notice that there are no footprints around the vehicle, the snow merely reached a critical mass where its weight exceeded the surface friction on the hood and it slide off onto the street.

I noticed around the bases of the trees that there was liquid dripping off the trees and onto the ground. Most trees are well into their budding phase and it would seem this is a bit of a shock to their systems.

Easter Sunday *FTLComm - Winnipeg - April 4, 1999* After having experience a surprise snow attack on Thursday Saturday nights assault was anticipated but perhaps a bit on the excessive. Around 6:00 Saturday night it began to rain but within minutes the rain was replaced with ice pellets and then wet snow that latches on to everything. Sunday morning revealed this amazing not quite weather environment. The high water content of the snow on the ground makes for a frozen under layer and the stuff is heavy. The pictures on this page were taken at 7:30 this morning and show what the city is like. It is surprising how so few trees have been damaged by the sticky moisture. Of course large amounts of precipitation like this falling on the Winnipeg flood basin always get the alarms going. People here have a heightened awareness of water flow and all news papers had articles about the Thursday snow fall and how this will affect the cresting of the various rivers in the area that seem every so often to expand beyond their normal courses. I noticed on one of the nearby American television channels that they even gave depth reports on all of the flowing water in the area with expected crests and depths. My guess is that this snowfall is much more the sort of thing one would expect in Calgary or Eastern Canada. It is not typical of Western Canada to have this volume of precipitation at this temperature.

The snow sitting on the limbs or painted on a side of a tree or post is novel to a person who lives on the prairies but in terms of photography it certainly creates some dramatic images. The picture of the car (below) is particularly interesting, notice that there are no footprints around the vehicle, the snow merely reached a critical mass where its weight exceeded the surface friction on the hood and it slide off onto the street. I noticed around the bases of the trees that there was liquid dripping off the trees and onto the ground. Most trees are well into their budding phase and it would seem this is a bit of a shock to their systems.