Bye Bye Winter!

It looks like the winter of 2009/2010 really will go down in history as "the winter that never was." That is unless we get a massive snow storm in the next 24 hours. Anything is possible, but I seriously doubt we'll see any measurable snow by 1:32pm tomorrow when we officially enter spring. Maybe some light rain tonight to the north but snow would be a long shot. So why has this winter been so mild and dry? Well, you can thank El Nino for that...but there is a chance for some precipitation to kick of spring.

















Looking at the latest GFS run there is the chance for some late day rain tomorrow as that frontal boundary (between a departing Alberta Clipper and an arriving Colorado Low) skims by the region. Don't expect a washout but a few showers are possible tomorrow and again on Sunday.

















But it's not all bad. Earlier this week that Colorado low was looking to track right through the region for Sunday and Monday but the latest NAM run shows the majority of the rain should fall south of us. The second pic is a snapshot of the latest NAM run for Monday and, as you can see, most of that rain is forecast to occur stateside of the Great Lakes. Even though the bulk of that system looks to miss us, there is still a strong possibility of a few showers (and maybe wet snow during the overnight hours) to kick off the first full week of spring. But hey...it wouldn't be spring without rain.

1000 Acts of Green

Yesterday I had the chance to spend some time with the good folks at Peterborough Green-Up and learn about a great promotion they’re running for the month of March. Green-Up, the City of Peterborough and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment are teaming up to promote Zero Footprint. This is an initiative urging everyone to reduce emissions and downsize their carbon footprint. To raise awareness for this initiative they’re holding a contest and giving away some great prizes. The contest is called “1000 Acts of Green” and all you have to do is email the Green-Up team and tell them about your act of green and you’re in the contest. It’s easy and it’s free! Prizes include:

· An I-Pod
· $50 Galaxy Cinemas gift certificate
· $100 gift certificate to the Shish Kabob Hut
· $100 gift certificate to Rare Grill House
· $75 gift certificate to the Peterborough Green-Up store

Also, as a special for Newswatch viewers, if you enter within the next 24 hours you could also win a $50 gift certificate to Green Eyewear. Click here for details on Zero Footprint and be sure to tell Peterborough Green-Up what you plan to do this year to help the environment by sending in your pledge to countdown@greenup.on.ca and good luck! Oh…and if they reach 1000 acts, Donald and Thalia (from the Green-Up team) will plunge into the chilly waters of the Otonabee at the end of the month. So there’s a little extra motivation for you.

New Record High!

The above pic is a shot of the daytime highs map of Ontario as of 4:30pm this afternoon. Yes that is 16 degrees for us folks living here in Peterborough. 16 degrees! (Well 15.9 but my computer rounds up to the next closest number). Our seasonal average is around 4 degrees and we can thank, in part, a lack of cloud cover for today's high with uninterupted sunshine literally cooking the Kawarthas. So now we have a little paper work to do...

There you have it! A new record of 15.9 degrees (as of 4:33pm...it still could get warmer) for Peterborough! It always feels good to make a little history and with a projected high of 16 tomorrow we may come close to doing it again. Tomorrow's all time high record is 17.8 degrees set back in 1927. I don't expect to beat that record but it is a possibility. Either way...have a great St. Patrick's Day. Mother Nature looks to deliver up some great patio weather!