Blizzard in North America - what does that mean?

Snow storm in Toronto

This year we were in eastern Canada for the first time in winter. We visited this Winterlude Festival in Ottawathat we saw in freezing cold and bright sunshine. An unforgettable and great experience! In Toronto on the other hand the weather changed. Fast! A snow storm in North America had been announced. When we got to the train station, it had just started to snow. Snow fell from the sky in thick flakes, and we were glad that the Delta Hotel we wanted to stay at could be reached via the Skywalk. That meant that we could make the short way there through sheltered passages while the snowstorm outside increased. When we arrived at the hotel, a message awaited us from our hosts, the Ontario Tourism Authority: “Please call us as soon as you are there! It's urgent!"

 

 

At first we couldn't imagine what the reason for this notification was, and we immediately answered the phone number provided. “Don't do anything tomorrow,” was the urgent answer. “Tomorrow is a snowstorm announced and the forecast is threatening.” We had heard a lot from our German news stations about how severe a snowstorm can be in North America, but this warning seemed exaggerated. I asked again: “Can we do something in Toronto?” And again it said: “You will see. Then nothing works in the city. ”“ Well, we'll see, ”I said to Petar, still skeptical.

 

 

Blizzard in North America: Toronto has disappeared!

When we woke up the next morning and looked out the window of our room on the 44th floor, I could hardly believe my eyes: Toronto was gone! Or better: we only saw white! The snow fell so thick that we could hardly see the neighboring buildings, which were only a few meters away from our hotel. “This is the mother of all snowstorms!” I said to Petar and looked for the weather channel on our television set. There was a tape among the film reports that urgently advised against leaving the house or even traveling. A little later our phone rang and our hostess once again strongly advised us not to do anything in town today.

"It is not worth. That will take time for the blizzard to subside. It should snow for a few more hours. The wind from Lake Ontario blows the snow over the roads and it usually takes some time for the roads to be cleared by winter maintenance and roadworthy again. Most Toronto people stay home and don't drive to work on a day like this. If you want to see something, everything may be closed. ”While she was explaining this to me, I saw a television report that the public buses in Toronto are not running today.

A few minutes our phone rang again, and our appointments that we had made for today were canceled - because of a snowstorm, and because of that points of interest & sights stayed closed. It slowly dawned on us that it might really be better to watch the whole thing from the safe hotel. Our walk to the City Hall we give ourselves. We promise to be sensible and first went to have breakfast in the hotel lounge on the top floor.

 

 

In the blizzard in North America you prefer to stay at home

The lounge is surrounded by a window front that provides a panoramic view. From here we could only see the CN Tower in front of us now and then. The Gardiner Expressway, only a few meters behind, could only be guessed in the snowstorm and Lake Ontario was nowhere to be seen. To make the dimensions clear to you: the way from the Delta Hotel to the lakeshore is about five minutes. What we could see of the roads from this height confirmed the news: very few cars fought their way through the snow-covered streets, skidding around the bends more than they steered around them. Public buses were nowhere to be seen. And only very rarely did we see a thickly masked person cross the street and immediately disappear into the next house.

Apparently we're not the only ones who have changed their plans. At the next table I hear a man say into the phone: “Don't worry, honey. I'm still here in the hotel and will wait until the storm is over. ”A snow storm in North America and eastern Canada has different dimensions than the few flakes that fall from the sky here in winter. We notice that very quickly when we step outside the door of the Delta Hotel after our breakfast. The icy wind and the drifting snow ensure that we quickly retreat to the cozy interior.

 

 

After the blizzard

It is not until around noon that the snowstorm in front of our window diminishes and we can observe how the snow plows slowly make their way through the snow masses. Cars are still barely visible in the city center. Apparently, many people took the warning to heart and stayed home. Only in the evening comes a little more life in the city. Only pedestrians still find it difficult to fight their way through the accumulated snow mountains at the crossroads to the other side of the street. Winter in Canada can be very beautiful, as we have experienced in Ottawa. But it can also be an adventure, as our first snowstorm in North America showed us.

 

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• Ottawa Winterlude
• Ottawa Winterlude hotels
• Chakalaka recipe from South Africa

Source: own research on site. We would like to thank Tourism Ontario for the kind invitation to this trip. However, our opinion remains our own.

Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos © Copyright MonikaFuchs and TravelWorldOnline