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Saturday March 18, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 18, 2023

Ontario experienced its darkest winter in more than 80 years

October 15, 2021

If you felt Ontario had an abnormally dark and dreary winter this year, the science backs you up.

In fact, parts of the province saw the least amount of direct sunlight in more than eight decades.

Data by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) shows that between December 2022 and February 2023, some regions of Ontario recorded the lowest levels of solar energy since 1940.

Brian Brettschneider, an Alaska-based climatologist with the U.S. National Weather Service, analyzed the data published by the ECMWF and presented the findings in several maps.

“There’s kind of this bullseye over southern Ontario, where the solar energy was quite a bit lower than, comparatively speaking, anywhere else,” he said, in an interview with the Star.

Though Ontario had “unremarkable” levels of sunlight in December, it was in January when the province experienced “exceptionally low” amounts of solar energy, said Brettschneider. It was followed by a February season which also had lower-than-normal levels of sunlight.

Looking back at the weather in Toronto this season, the city experienced 14 consecutive days in late January without the sun appearing, according to David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada. Earlier in the season, between Dec. 30 and Jan. 13, there was only one day that was described as mainly clear.

August 25, 2021

“It’s hard to imagine a year that was so cloudy and overcast,” said Phillips. “We also had fog, drizzle, snow, freezing rain, blowing snow and snow showers — a whole litany of precipitation types.”

The wet and overcast conditions were due to persistent flows of moisture arriving from the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, said Brettschneider.

“You just get a lot of efficient cloud production when that happens,” he added.

Phillips also noted that southern Ontario had an unseasonably warm winter season, except for this March. But the low-pressure systems that bring these balmy conditions usually bring clouds and moisture as well, he said. (The Toronto Star) 

 

Wednesday March 29, 2006

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday March 29, 2006 PM given ultimatum Opposition party leaders warned recently that they are willing to bring down Stephen Harper's minority government if it does not change its course -- particularly on the Tory promise to provide a child-care subsidy to parents -- in the next two weeks. In separate meetings with the Prime Minister, interim Liberal leader Bill Graham and the Bloc Quebecois' Gilles Duceppe reminded the Conservative leader his party is outnumbered in the House of Commons and urged him to compromise on the government agenda as he drafts his Throne Speech. The speech, which will be delivered by Governor-General Michaelle Jean on April 4, sets out the agenda for the coming parliamentary session and will be passed or defeated in a confidence vote that could spark another election. Mr. Graham insisted the Liberals are willing to face the consequences of a confidence vote even though they won't have a new leader until December and are still struggling with the fallout of the party's defeat in January. He laid out his party's well-known concerns about the Tory agenda, including the fate of a $5-billion deal -- signed by the Liberals last year -- to improve living conditions for aboriginals, opposition to a cut to the Goods and Services Tax and Mr. Harper's promise to pull out of child-care agreements that were also signed by the previous Liberal government (Source: National Post) http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=dd0f2d4c-60ec-404c-8451-05c353046371 Canada, Parliament, Bill Graham, interim, Ralph Goodale, GST, Child Care, Liberal, Light, Brigade, charge

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday March 29, 2006

PM given ultimatum

Opposition party leaders warned recently that they are willing to bring down Stephen Harper’s minority government if it does not change its course — particularly on the Tory promise to provide a child-care subsidy to parents — in the next two weeks.

In separate meetings with the Prime Minister, interim Liberal leader Bill Graham and the Bloc Quebecois’ Gilles Duceppe reminded the Conservative leader his party is outnumbered in the House of Commons and urged him to compromise on the government agenda as he drafts his Throne Speech.

The speech, which will be delivered by Governor-General Michaelle Jean on April 4, sets out the agenda for the coming parliamentary session and will be passed or defeated in a confidence vote that could spark another election.

Mr. Graham insisted the Liberals are willing to face the consequences of a confidence vote even though they won’t have a new leader until December and are still struggling with the fallout of the party’s defeat in January.

He laid out his party’s well-known concerns about the Tory agenda, including the fate of a $5-billion deal — signed by the Liberals last year — to improve living conditions for aboriginals, opposition to a cut to the Goods and Services Tax and Mr. Harper’s promise to pull out of child-care agreements that were also signed by the previous Liberal government (Source: National Post)