Randy mentioned the untypical weather in Alberta in one of his Christmas posts, Christmas 2005 (5). Winnipeg has had a strange December. Lots of snow, but very warm for the most part. The explanation for Winnipeg, as far as it goes, according to a story in the Free Press today is that a moist low pressure system off the West coast is tied to the jet stream and feeding warm moist air that is blowing across Canada, in a twisty kind of way. There has been enough snow to ski, but the snow has transformed, and I have not wanted to play with klister. It is like putting glue on skis, and I probably have to shop to get the right waxes for these unusual conditions.
It has been a strange weather year. The Environment Canada site has the Weather stories of the year now - see Top Ten Canadian Weather Stories for 2005. The steady rain in southern Manitoba in May and June and the flooding was the number two story in the list.
It continues to be mild here. I was in Calgary on Dec 26, and couldn't sleep that night because the room in which I was staying wouldn't cool down. There is no snow here, only white dust here and there. Eventually we will need snow for ground cover, but it's been easy on the driving so far this year.