Niagara Falls in the winter

 If you are thinking about travelling to Niagara Falls, Ontario in the winter, there are a few things that you should take into consideration when planning your trip. Niagara Falls, Ontario in the winter is so different from what it is like in the summer. Here are some things that you will need to know:

1.    Weather – the weather in Niagara Falls can change pretty quickly in the winter, as it can get quite a bit of snow in a very short amount of time. This area can get snow squalls, and you will also find that there is a wind-chill that you are going to have to take into consideration. If you are going to want to see the actual falls during the winter, be prepared to get wet from the mist, and it is going to be very cold.

2.    Attractions – if there are specific attractions you want to see, make sure you check to see if they are open all year round or just at specific times. Also, if they are open all year round, make sure you check the hours because that will certainly be different from the summer hours. Another thing to check is if the attractions are only open on specific days in the winter because the number of visitors is way down compared to the summer.

3.    Restaurants – if there are certain restaurants that you enjoy going to make sure that you have checked their hours and even check what days they are open because some will only be open during part of the week, usually Thursday – Sunday, when there are more visitors.

4.    Hotels – this one is to check for deals that you can possibly find because the prices of hotel rooms will be considerably cheaper during the winter than in the summer. Also, if you can travel during the week, the prices will be cheaper than weekends rates as well. If you are driving and will be parking a vehicle, make sure that you check the price of parking at the hotel because that can really vary. Some hotels may charge you $20 a night during the winter, and other's may cost you $80 a night even in the winter.

5.    Parking – if you are just visiting for a day, make sure you check around to see the price of parking because it can vary. Parking right at the Falls is going to be more expensive than if you decide to park a little further away and do a bit of walking.

Going to Niagara Falls in the winter can be very enjoyable, but you just need to be prepared for things being different than they are when there are more tourists visiting. So, if you are considering a visit to Niagara Falls in the winter, make sure you do your homework first to ensure that you get the experience that you want out of the trip.

What a weird winter this is

For anyone that lives in Ontario you will understand what I am talking about. Our winter of 2017 has been a very odd winter so far and we still have about another month of what could be winter. Here it is the beginning of March and the snow piles that we see are very small and they are found in the parking lots of malls due to the large piles that were built up when the plows were needed in January.

Of course, we have had the snow falls like everyone else which is normal for us here but what we have also experienced is very warm weather for us. In February we just finished recording the warmest February in Toronto ever and that is because of our crazy weather. We have had days of +16 and more which is very odd for us in February. Sure we sometimes have one day like that which we all enjoy but this was the month where we had an unusual number of days over zero Celsius. For a month with 28 days we had 21 days of above zero and that was nice. Sure we had the days of +2 Celsius and that but when you see temperatures of +14 and +19 Celsius you know that is very unusual for us and we had three days like that.

Having the temperatures like we had does mean that the maple syrup sap has been running about three weeks earlier than normal which is great for them but now what are we going to be dealing with in March. It looks like we are still in for the roller coaster of temperatures if the -6 Celsius to the +10 Celsius forecast for the first week of March so it could be a very interesting march for us.

I am not complaining about the weather we have been having because I am one of those that really doesn’t like dealing with all the snow. I am not one of those that like all the winter sports so not having the snow really doesn’t bother me too much. I do know that there could be issues with water levels if we don’t have rain and such but we have also had rain in February. What is interesting is when we have thunder storms in February because of the temperatures instead of snow storms.

I am not sure how much more snow we are going to have this year but I have been enjoying the warmer weather. I don’t like when we have the -5 Celsius temperatures and a wind chill that brings the temperature down to around -16 Celsius but we really haven’t had many of those either so it is something that we can handle. My only real complaint is the temperature swing that we have had. We have gone from +13 Celsius one day to -5 Celsius the next and that does make it hard to handle.

We still have another month of winter ahead of us and will see what it is like. I hope that we are finished with the major snowfalls for this year. I don’t mind if it rains but we need the ground to thaw out some so that the rain just doesn’t run off. I guess I am going to have to wait for the ground to thaw for a little bit but I am seeing that spring is just around the corner and that makes me happy.

Our crazy winter

This year we have had a very odd winter and in some ways I really didn’t mind a lot of it.

Yes, we didn’t have as much snow as I thought we were going to have. It would have been nice to have the snow when people didn’t need to get around because it is always nice for Christmas. This year we had a green Christmas which seems to be what we have been getting more and more. The lack of snow makes it easier for people to drive distances and that makes me happy but I am one of those that likes a bit of snow on the ground when I wake up on Christmas day.

We did have the freezing temperatures a few times but not the long cold days that we have had in the past couple of years. This year we had a couple of days of -20 plus and then the wind chill made it worse but it didn’t last long like it has. We also had days when we were wondering if winter was really over because the temperatures go into the mid plus teens in early March. That is what we were dealing with this year and then winter decided it had to make one more appearance in the form of freezing rain.

Now the freezing rain started on the Wednesday before the Easter weekend so that meant that traveling on the Thursday was rather difficult. You can always tell when it is rough out when the school buses in our area are cancelled for students. The freezing rain made for some really nice looking trees but that is all that was good about the rain. This freezing rain also means that some of the trees that have already started to bloom may have a lot of damage again this year. The frozen trees also means that there are a lot of power lines coming down when the branches break off the trees.

Our winter seems to be a little crazy and I guess that is something that we are going to be dealing with in the future as well. Hopefully people won’t be without power too long this time due to the storm and then this will be the last that we see of the freezing rain and snow until at least November. Of course, I know that we need the snow for the moisture in the ground and I will never complain about the snow as long as it doesn’t impact businesses in a negative way. Snow in the middle of the night and then be done by the morning and I would be happy. Also I would rather have a lot of small accumulations than 1 major storm.

Maybe winter is over for us this year, but we will have to see as we have had snow into April in the past, so until then, we are just going to have to wait and see.

Winter weather

Have you noticed that we are hearing one phrase a lot right now, “I am tired of winter”? So many of us have been dealing with the freezing temperatures and lots of snow for long enough this year. Yes, there is still 5 weeks before the official start of spring, but it would be nice for it to start a littler earlier than that.

As I write this, I am looking out my window and looking at the roofs of apartment buildings, and they are all white. It does get a bit tiring of seeing so much white around us during the winter. I know that we have had it easy for the last few years, so I guess we are getting payback for those good years.

I decided that one thing I could do to help me and those around me feel a little better was to start wearing brighter clothes for a few days. Yes, when you look at your winter wardrobe if you are like me, you will notice a lot of duller colours on the hangers. I have lots of greys, blues, and such. I do have a couple of tops that do have some brighter colours, so have pulled them out and started wearing them. Maybe that is what more people need to do.

There are so many people that say they don't like the hot weather, but I would rather have the hot weather than the freezing temperatures, snow and ice.  Maybe if some of the snow would melt just a bit, it might help me feel like the winter isn't so bad.

So, if you are like me and getting very tired of this dull weather, why not put on a brighter top and see how that makes you and those around you feel.