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Week of December 27th, 2020

Weekly Temperature
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Dec27 Dec28 Dec29 Dec30 Dec31 Jan01 Jan02
High 0.6 2.8 -1.9 3.8 1.7 0.5.1.4
Low -5.4 -4.3 -5.4 -1.1 0.4 -2.4 0.4

The lake effect snow warnings ended on Tuesday. I was hoping for colder temperatures, but unfortunately the forecast is warm. Warm weather means that the beach will be a slushy mess in the coming week.

Sunday, December 27th, 2020 – Ice is starting to build up along the shore.
Monday, December 28th, 2020 – Walking along snowmobile trails headed easy towards beach one.
Monday, December 28th, 2020 – Ice berms are starting to build, protecting the beach from waves and making it easier to walk.
Tuesday, December 29th, 2020 – Walking along snowmobile tracks along the beach after more fresh snow.
Wednesday, December 30th, 2020 – Looking west towards Blue Mountain.
Monday, January 1st 2021 – looking west along the beach. A little slushy today.
Saturday, January 2nd, 2021 – Looking northwest from near 13th street.
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Week of December 20th, 2020

Weekly Temperature
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25 Dec26
High 4.5 2.4 2.8 6.7 9.4 -0.7 -2.0
Low 0.4 -0.2 -0.0 -0.2 -1.8 -6.6 -6.2

The weather this week was above seasonal, but we avoided a green Christmas just in the nick of time with a significant snowfall that started on Christmas Eve. With Covid still an issue, and provincial lock-downs we’ve had a quiet Christmas.

Sunday, December 20th, 2020 – Looking west – on the way back to my truck @ 18th street from the boardwalk just west of beach one.
Monday, December 21st, 2020 – After a day, the snow along the beach is gone helped by waves and wind. Taken at 15th street on my daily journey to beach one.
Tuesday, December 22nd. 2020 – The winds were high today. It wasn’t possible to walk along the beach with water levels still near record highs. I walked along the streets parallel to be beach instead. I ducked down to the beach to take this picture showing the extent of the wave actions near 15th street.
Tuesday, December 22nd. 2020 – Looking west across the Nottawasaga Bay to the ski hills on Blue Mountain.
Friday, December 25th, 2020 – We got a lot of snow starting on Christmas eve. Getting my feet wet walking down an unbroken trail on my way to the beach at 13th street.
Friday, December 25th, 2020 – Looking east on Shore Lane on Christmas Day.
Saturday, December 26th, 2020 – My son Ben is home for the holidays. As his car shows, he’s doing the right thing – social distancing and going nowhere.
Saturday, December 26th, 2020 – Our place on a snowy Boxing Day.
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Week of December 13th, 2020

Weekly Temperature
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Dec13 Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19
High 5.3 1.6 -1.5 -6.6 -2.2 -0.9 0.8
Low -3.2 -2.6 -10.9 -11.5 -11.6 -14 -6.1

This was an awesome week for walking down the beach. We had four back-to-back nights with temperatures below -10C and the water finally began to freeze. Even with daily highs below freezing and south winds, the water is still too warm to freeze solid. I’m looking forward to some colder weather because I like walking out on the ice.

Sunday, December 13th, 2020 – Looking west from near 13th street.
Sunday, December 13th, 2020 – Today it was snowing in Collingwood – you can see heavy snow across the bay with the Blue Mountains in the background.
Monday, December 14th, 2020 – You could feel the weather starting to change today as winds shifted to blowing from the north. A cold front is on the way.
Tuesday, December 15th, 2020 – It was well below freezing Tuesday. Walking along the beach was tricky. The upper part of the beach (near the snow) was glare ice in places (because the waves rarely reach that high) – the trick is to walk down the middle – dry enough to walk on, warm enough not freeze due to regular wave action.
Tuesday, December 15th, 2020 – Looking west along the boardwalk near the midpoint of my daily walk on my way back from beach one.
Tuesday, December 15th, 2020 – I didn’t get caught in this snowsquall while walking the beach, but I caught this picture of it coming from the north. The snow hit while I was driving home shortly after.  Snowsqualls can be localized and this one was quite intense.
Wednesday, December 16th, 2020 – It was around -8C walking down the beach on Wednesday – Today was finally cold enough to start forming some shore ice despite Georgian Bay being well above freezing. You could almost watch it freeze today.
Wednesday, December 16th, 2020 – The high winds Monday or Tuesday brought this tree up on shore.  Also, the deck that I photographed previously that had washed ashore was mysteriously washed away. You can see why boating in the spring is dangerous. The Bay is full of waterlogged items often floating just below the surface – There is enough debris to do severe damage to a boat or propeller.
Thursday, December 17th, 2020 – I headed down the beach around 4:00pm today and it was gorgeous. As you can see from the footprints, lots of people had the same idea. It was around -3C, but with a south wind it felt like a summer day.
Thursday, December 17th, 2020 – Ice has started to form quite a distance from shore.
Friday, December 18th, 2020 – It’s difficult to explain the ice patterns. It was -14C overnight, but surprisingly most of the ice had disappeared by Friday @ noon. Note how wide the beach looks? Last week the water was all the way up to the streetlights along beach one. Another day with a south wind.
Saturday, December 19th, 2020 – Mom and I walked down the beach again today. It’s completely clear after the wind and waves earlier in the week. Lots of people on the beach today for this time of year.
Saturday, December 19th, 2020 – We met this fox near the beach 2 boardwalk.