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Canadian Weather Phrases
Tue Jun 28, 2005
Listen in RealAudio 
Weather events are shared experiences among a region's residents. It is not
surprising, then, that local words enter the language to describe specific events. That's
true in the United States and across the meteorologically diverse nation of Canada,
where many local weather terms have arisen, including 70 unique wind
names.
Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton and this is the Weather Notebook.
In the Prairie Provinces, the January thaw is called the "Bonspiel Thaw" because it
often arrives with the curling tournament, or bonspiel, season.
The "ground-drifter" is a cold north wind pushing snow into drifts. "Plough winds" are
strong, downburst winds descending from severe thunderstorms; and "black blizzard"
describes fierce dust storms of black prairie soil.
Coastal British Columbia has several local wind names. The "Qualicum" is a strong
sea breeze surging across Vancouver Island onto the Strait of Georgia, while the
"Squamish" is an Arctic outbreak wind emerging from the cold continental interior
through Howe Sound.
On the Arctic's Ellesmere Island, a "cow storm" describes a strong gale that can blow
the horns off muskoxen cows.
Newfoundlanders are especially fruitful in coining unique weather words. Here are just
a few:
"Sheila's Brush" names a fierce wind and snowstorm striking around St Patrick's
Day;
"Silver Glitter" describes an ice storm;
"Wreckhouse winds" are strong gales known for blowing trains off tracks and trucks off
roads;
"Mauzy" denotes damp and warm, muggy weather, sometimes with light rain.
We thank meteorologist Keith Heidorn who shared his Canadian weather vocabulary
from his home in Victoria, British Columbia. The Weather Notebook is a production of
the Mount Washington Observatory and is supported by the National Science
Foundation and Subaru.
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