To the seasons of life
January 10th, 7pm shows snow accumulated, Merritt BC
Photo KDG
We have had snow on the ground here in South Central British Columbia, at 700 meters elevation, for about a month. The fist time in decades that snow lasted more then a week. The accumulation is forcast for clear skies and at this writing there are heavy skies with moderately low ceiling.
This gives a feeling of normal to local long timers.
On this day: January 10th 49 BC
Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon River with his legions.
Animation of the blood moon September 28th 2015
File photo KDG
Friday, (Saturday some places)that pesky full moon will be a harvest moon. The event is close to the fall equinox on the 22nd so the angle that it appears in the horizon will be smaller then usual.
The Earth’s axis is always tilted at an angle of about 23.4° in relation to the ecliptic, the imaginary plane created by the Earth’s path around the Sun. On any other day of the year, either the southern hemisphere or the Northern Hemisphere tilts a little towards the Sun. But on the two equinoxes, the tilt of the Earth’s axis is perpendicular to the Sun’s ray.
The fullness of the moon will be at 9:05:06 Central European Time, here it will be 12:05:06 PDT, Pacific Daylight Time.
Full moons are often attributed to strange events including a recent study by the University of Tokyo suggesting large earthquakes correspond to large tidal events, these events are driven by gravitational pull on the earth from the moon.
University of Tokyo, found that tides—which arise from the gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon—can cause changes that may trigger earthquakes. Source Time Magazine.
Editors note: Or the last tidal event triggered the big one meant for you…
Moon at three quarter August Merritt BC Photo KDG
On this Day: September 15th 1971
The first Green Peace ship goes to Amchitka Island to demonstrate against nuclear testing.
has needs
File photo KDG
There are walking trails near the river here in Merritt. King your friend from to being hot in cars!
Hyperthermia is elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation that occurs when a body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. Extreme temperature elevation then becomes a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment to prevent disability or death.
On this day: August 10th 1899
The Norwegian football team Viking FK is formed.
Snow staying in Merritt
Photo KDG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merritt,_British_Columbia
On this Day: January 5th 1892
The first Auroal Photograph is produced.
There is a risk from above when snow is wet and thawing….
On this Day: November 24th 1429
Joan of Arc fails to take La Charite in a siege.
Cold conditions can still result in Black ice: File photo KDG
The highways system makes winter tires required from October 1st to March 31st , this is to even be on some roads ( high altitude subject to changing conditions). These roads are posted with signs and there is a fine no matter what the present conditions are as you travel . The fine:($121.00) for unmarked proper tires of 3.5 mm of tread.
VICTORIA – With winter quickly approaching, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure would like to remind motorists that beginning today, Oct. 1, 2014, winter tires are required on many highways throughout the province.
Signs are posted on each of the designated highways to advise motorists where winter tires are required. These are generally located approaching high mountain passes and interior highways where conditions can change from rain to snow very quickly.
Maps showing which roads require winter tires can be found on the ministry’s web page at:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/driving/traveller-information/seasonal/winter-driving/winter-tires-and-chains/winter-tire-and-chain-up-routesAs a result of the technical analysis completed during the Rural Highway Safety and Speed Review, winter tires have been defined as those labelled with either the winter mountain/snowflake symbol or the mud and snow (M+S) designation. Winter tires must also be in good condition with a minimum tread depth of 3.5 mm.
There is also a new time frame that winter tires are required on the high mountain passes. The new time frame is October 1 to March 31 (it previously was October 1 to April 30).
The ministry encourages drivers to always drive to the road conditions and choose the best tires possible. Tires with the winter mountain/snowflake symbol provide the best level of traction and safety in severe snow and ice conditions. Source BC govt.
So what about where it is not posted as required at all times? In our opinion from time and experience if you are driving in your small town and have an accident and conditions contribute to it then you will be held responsible perhaps as seriously as not having used required care and attention.
This can make you at fault and hurt severely. Here’s the rule accidents happen for a reason and someone will apply it to any use of a motor vehicle, to a fault. You may have good all season radials and they work, however over night lows are going below -8 Celsius this week and next and our subjective experience tells us that snow is solid as compact and black ice can be a problem. These conditions are different then slushy watery snow.
All these weather conditions are a challenge to be addressed, good luck and be aware… Watch and beeeeeee winter smart….
On this Day: November 19th 1847
The second Canadian rail line, is opened, the Montreal to La-chine line.
Looking for tagged fish.
Photo KDG
On Wednesday a pair of observers of First Nation origin were rowing down the Nicola River in a rubber raft.When challenged by the PR they said “we are looking for Chinook Salmon” .”We tagged a thousand of them last year and they should be here anytime” They run every year, said the person in control of the boat.
Merritt has two small rivers that join in the city. The Coldwater and the Nicola they continue as the Nicola to the Thompson at Spence’s Bridge and then on to the the Fraser and the Pacific ocean.There is a fish hatchery at Spious creek west of Merritt that is open to the public for tours. A serious fish tagging program is undertaken and a cabled intervention point is on the Coldwater River off the Voght park walking trail.
The Coldwater river was visibly seen to be suffering during the drought this summer but on viewing the this morning looks healthy and well due to rains in the Coldwater river valley high into the Coquihalla area to the south. The river is however void of fish at this point from a layman’s perspective and access. Chinnok Salmon are on the UNC red list for endangered species.
According to the local newspaper of record the city has announced plans to purchase three city lots on Charters street (* one is in the Nicola river) for a preserve.the lots are said to have access problems which may make them suitable for the preserve.
Chinook are anadromous fish native to the North Pacific Ocean and the river systems of western North America, ranging from California to Alaska, as well as Asian rivers ranging from northern Japan to the Palyavaam River in the Arctic north-east Siberia. They have been introduced to other parts of the world, including New Zealand and the Great Lakes of North America. A large Chinook is a prized and sought-after catch for a sporting angler. The flesh of the salmon is also highly valued for its dietary nutritional content, which includes high levels of important omega-3 fatty acids. Some populations are endangered, however many are healthy. The Chinook salmon has not been assessed for the UCN Red List.
Source: Wikipedia
On this Day: September 3rd 1976
The Viking 2 spacecraft lands on the Utopia Planitia,Mars.
Moisture on Hamilton hill
A week before the site of a fire
Photo: KDG
The weekend saw moisture come to the valley including dew point drop. The mountain was the site of chemical water bombing on a fire recently.
On this Day: July 28th 1996
Kennewick man is found on the banks of a river in Kennewick Washington.
A low pressure front is working its way inland from the ocean and is pushing winds into Merritt. The winds are bringing coastal seagulls with it as hundreds were in the air Monday evening. Tuesday saw a lone seagull with four crows foraging for scraps at the mall bench. The mix seemed a bit off but there was a noticeable lack of hostility with the birds.
The accepting crows even seemed to have more peace with the gull then with the idled men that sometimes take that bench. Some rain may not be far behind these birds as a cooling is noticeable. The forecasters are saying a significant amount of rain will come to the central north of the province this week. Merritt does not usually have seagulls.
On this day: July 22 1985 Greek singer Nikos Ganos is born. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvM1hxDA1s
Have a great weekend,
The forecast for the next week is over 30 degree Celsius weather .
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/canada/british-columbia/merritt
On this Day: July 3rd 1644
The last pair of Great auks is killed.
The great auk was an important part of many Native American cultures, both as a food source and as a symbolic item. Many Maritime Archaic people were buried with great auk bones, and one was buried covered in over 200 auk beaks, which are assumed to have been part of a cloak made of their skins. Early European explorers to the Americas used the auk as a convenient food source or as fishing bait, reducing its numbers. The bird’s down was in high demand in Europe, a factor which largely eliminated the European populations by the mid-16th century. Scientists soon began to realize that the great auk was disappearing and it became the beneficiary of many early environmental laws, but this proved not to be enough. Its growing rarity increased interest from European museums and private collectors in obtaining skins and eggs of the bird. On 3 July 1844, the last two confirmed specimens were killed on Eldey, off the coast of Iceland, which also eliminated the last known breeding attempt. There are unconfirmed later reports of roaming individuals being seen or caught. A record of a bird in 1852 is considered by some to be the last sighting of the species. The great auk is mentioned in a number of novels and the scientific journal of the American Ornithologists’ Union is named The Auk in honour of this bird.
Source Wikipedia
On Saturday there was a sun dog reported in the morning rrsulting in a heavy frost on Sunday morning and a higher ceiling withj brighter sunny weather after a week of mostly cloudy and noted by locals as ” cold for the end of April.”
Sun dogs are commonly caused by the refraction of light from plate-shaped hexagonalice crystals either in high and cold cirrus or cirrostratus clouds or, during very cold weather, drifting in the air at low levels, in which case they are called diamond dust.[4] The crystals act as prisms, bending the light rays passing through them with a minimum deflection of 22°. As the crystals gently float downwards with their large hexagonal faces almost horizontal, sunlight is refracted horizontally, and sun dogs are seen to the left and right of the Sun. Larger plates wobble more, and thus produce taller sundogs.[5]
Sun dogs are red-colored at the side nearest the Sun; farther out the colors grade through oranges to blue. However, the colors overlap considerably and so are muted, never pure or saturated.[6] The colors of the sun dog finally merge into the white of the parhelic circle (if the latter is visible).[7]
The same plate shaped ice crystals that cause sun dogs are also responsible for the colourful circumzenithal arc, meaning that these two types of halo tend to co-occur.[8] The latter is often missed by viewers, however, since it is located more or less directly overhead. Another halo variety often seen together with sun dogs is the 22° halo, which forms a ring at roughly the same angular distance from the sun as the sun dogs, thus appearing to interconnect them. As the Sun rises higher, however, the rays passing through the plate crystals are increasingly skewed from the horizontal plane, causing their angle of deviation to increase and the sun dogs to move farther from the 22° halo, while staying at the same elevation.[9]
It is possible to predict the forms of sun dogs as would be seen on other planets and moons. Mars might have sun dogs formed by both water-ice and CO2-ice. On the giant gas planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — other crystals form the clouds of ammonia, methane, and other substances that can produce halos with four or more sun dogs.[10] Source wikipedia
A lunar halo was seen in January and pictures of it are in the header video
( Best Regards) of this page.
On this day: April 28th2001
Dennis Tito becomes the world first space tourist.
Hey Merit what do you say?
Kevin Griffiths
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