Mother Nature Saves City Lots of Money

Are you wondering where the snow is?

So are Winnipeg's seasonal equipment operators - the people who drive our city's dump trucks and snowplows during winter. Usually, Winnipeg would have had one or two large snowfalls by now, and certainly much colder weather than we're currently experiencing. There's a picture of me at age 1 sitting on my parents' front yard, on a snowdrift half the height of their garage door....it was taken on Remembrance Day 1986.

This month, Mother Nature seems to have decided that Winnipeggers deserve a break. We're saving energy, because we don't need to exert ourselves to shovel, keep upright, or simply stay warm on freezing, icy streets. We're saving on our heating bills because we haven't yet had to set our furnaces to max power. And the city doesn't have plow crews out on the streets because, well, there's no snow.

Anybody who spends their time primarily outdoors must be feeling relieved. The Downtown Biz foot patrols are likely enjoying the decreased risk of frostbite, as are people who commute by walking, cycling, or buses that don't arrive on time/often enough. I can't say I mind the unseasonably warm weather either; it means slightly more comfort for those who don't have a safe, warm roof over their heads on a regular basis. Only slightly more - the temperature is dropping below 0C during nights.

But for now - thank you, Mother Nature, for saving us a little bit of energy and warmth.