Someone once said, if we didn’t have any weather, most Canadians couldn’t start a conversation. That’s not too far off the mark. In 2014, a report by Influence Communication analyzed all major news stories of the year and concluded that sports and weather-related news dominate our headlines.
Our obsession with the weather is nothing new: many of the weather instruments that we use today were invented at the beginning in the 15th century. We’ve been observing, measuring and forecasting the weather for a very long time. We spend a lot of time talking about the weather too; I’ve made a career of it.
I grew up on a dairy farm so nothing was more important than the weather. Today I understand why, but as a young girl on the farm the message wasn’t quite so clear. You see, in the summer, if it was nice, we couldn’t go fishing or head to the beach with our friends from town. Instead, we were off to the field to make hay. I wasn’t the only one. Many people grew up in households where the weather dictated what they did and when they did it. Weather patterns can also impact our physical and mental wellbeing; I know quite a few people who struggle on dreary days. I must say, it is easier to “rise and shine” when the sun’s out!
And what about those “aches and pains?" Falling barometric pressure and high humidity have been linked to joint pain and for some, awful headaches.
We can learn a lot by observing the weather and its impact on the world around us. Data is collected and stored for that purpose.
Related: Meteorologist Cindy Day to keep her eyes on the sky for SaltWire Network
I recently became aware of another method of documenting weather for future reference; it involves collecting data and just enough yarn to make a blanket.
Earlier this week, Lori Mahar sent me a photo of a blanket she crocheted. It took her all year; not because she’s a slow crocheter, but because she had to wait to collect the daily temperature information.
Lori picked a different coloured yarn for every 5 degrees Celsius and crocheted a row a day in the colour that corresponded to that day’s temperature. There are 365 rows in this blanket.
The left side of the blanket starts Jan. 1, 2017, and the right side ends on Dec. 31, 2017. Lori tells me her weather blanket was fun to make: “…and a great reminder of how the temperature changes throughout the year”.
Lori lives on Prince Edward Island and used the Summerside temperatures to build her masterpiece.
The blanket is beautiful but some might say it’s a little too blue for their liking.
Thank you for sharing Lori!
Cindy Day is chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network.
