For those of you reading this who don’t live in Calgary, sorry, but this post may not be very relatable. But for my fellow Calgarians, or even other Canadians, I hope you find this post (consisting mostly of my rants) entertaining!
What’s up? (AKA my rant)
I’ve always been a fall person (pumpkin spice for life), so if I had to choose between the winter and summer, I automatically turn to winter. My opinion on this subject has always been pretty definite, but Calgary winters are definitely beginning to make me question my stance.
Before Calgary, I lived in Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; and Copenhagen, Denmark. Living in the Southern United States was the exact opposite, weather wise, compared to Calgary. When I was younger, in the winters when the temperature was 17 degrees Celsius (63 Fahrenheit), I would wear the largest puffer coat possible and cover every exposed part of my skin in some sort of winter attire. Now, it’s currently 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) in Calgary and I can leave the house in a light hoodie without a worry in the world. Danish winters were a drastic switch from Houston, but now I realize that compared to Calgary, they were nothing.
The first year that I lived here, in about mid-September we were surprised with the arrival of at least 5 inches of snow on our driveway. Mind you, we didn’t own a single piece of winter equipment yet and not a single store in a reasonable distance had snow shovels. The only place we could find was Shoppers Drug Mart. What?! Oh, and guess what? The only shovels they had were literal children ones with shovels slightly larger than my face. The following winters, I came to the unfortunate realization that the temperatures and snow fall in Calgary were crazy every year, they weren’t just coincidences. Last February, the coldest temperature was around -30 degrees Celsius. And guess what? The snow in Calgary only completely melted in May!
Tips and Tricks?
Clearly, I am not a fan of Calgary winters, but I have to admit, they are absolutely beautiful (at least until the slush hits). In order to help you all get through this next winter, which I have no doubt will have some “special” surprises, I wanted to provide a quick list of ways you can make your winter a little warmer!
Community:
- Calgary Mustard Seed Winter donations
- You can purchase items on the Mustard Seed’s wish list to help the less fortunate stay safe. Last year, this program was incredibly helpful because of dangerously cold weather.
- Calgary Food Bank
- I encourage you to donate either non-perishable foods or money to the Calgary Food Bank. Many schools and workplaces have food drives, so you can donate there too! The Calgary Food Bank’s work is incredibly impactful for families in need, especially during the winter times, so your donations would be put to good use!
Personal:
- Always keep an emergency pair of gloves with you.
- Are your hands too cold to type or write? Run them under warm water for a few seconds!
- If it snowed overnight, shovel the snow covering the path of your driveway that your car would pass over. This way, the snow won’t become packed and practically impossible to shovel!
- Keep a hand lotion tube in your pocket for those really dry days!
- Be especially organized when it comes to taking transit or walking to your destination. You don’t want to get caught in the cold! Download the Calgary Transit app on your phone!
This post was primarily me ranting about Calgarian weather, but I hope you still found it entertaining and maybe even the slightest bit helpful. Enjoy the rest of October! I have my fingers crossed that we’ll get through it without significant snowfall! Stay warm!
