Observations:
The way it is:
Average annual temperatures are approximately 0.8°C above historical norms; the frequency of hurricanes and tropical storms have doubled in comparison to the last century; and coastal erosion, sea-level rise and sea surge are impacting coastal and marine areas.
As a result, the province is experiencing increased permafrost melt, flooding, infrastructure damage, reduced sea ice, and greater risk from new invasive species and infectious diseases that could affect plant, animal and human health, as well as changes in animal habitat affecting species such as caribou.
[On Climate Change in Newfoundland and Labrador]
When it comes to weather prediction: What happened yesterday is likely to happen today; the pattern only changes when some new influence or disruption occurs to break it.
Across two weeks in June, 2021, 53 people participated in a survey reporting on weather across Newfoundland & Labrador.
*High humidity precedes a storm
In 3-4 words describe the weather today:
Overcast spring threatening rain.
Sunny, chilly, still.
Overcast, fog, sunshine.
Sunny, wet, cloudy.
Blue, bright, fluffy.
Warm and wonderful.
Warm windy dusk beautiful.
Warm, breezy, beautiful.
Bright, sunny w a light breeze.
HOT, sunny, light breeze.
Clear, sharp, pleasantly warm.
Overcast.
Backlit.
Crisp.
Warm(ish).
It’s warm, sunny and 19°C. There is strong wind, but it is warm wind (some day on clothes). Keeps the flies away :).
Drizzly, foggy, breezy.
Mauzy, overcast, grey.
It is very hot today and humid, sultry.
Overcast, and slightly humid.
Sunny, warm, breezy.
Hot with a warm breeze.
Hot. Sunny. A lovely day to be off. I’m working.
Humid, muggy and thick.
Unusually hot; very windy.
It’s surprisingly warm and a bit cloudy but it really feels like the sun wants to break through!
Warm windy bright.
Warm, breezy and sunny.
Bright, blue, sunny, warm, humid, breezy.
Bright, sunny, warm, very light breeze.
Bright, warm, calm.
Sunny, hot, no wind.
Sunny with clouds windy.
Rainy and overcast.
Humid, hot, feels like a thunder storm maybe be.
It’s sunny and cloudless but cool.
Cold sunny beautiful.
Cold, calm, sunny.
Sunny, calm, breeze.
Bright and cool.
Clear, sunny, low wind, brisk.
Cold, sunny, disappointing, fall.
Lovely.
Sunny, cool, windy.
Blue skies, slight breeze.
Sunny, bright, fresh.
Chilly, fresh, a breeze, a misty sun.
Sunny, still cool out, so green with life.
Clear, cool, breezy, lovely.
Crisp Bright Light Breeze.
Clouds, blue, bright, crisp.
Cool.
Sunny.
Beautiful.
Chilly, overcast, light blue.
Cold, windy, cloudy, sad.
Hot, sunny, humid.
Overcast, quiet, damp.
Tips to help you predict the weather:
*Wind from West –> good weather to come
*High humidity precedes a storm
*White, high, whispy clouds –> nice weather on the way
*Smells become wet before a storm
*When clouds are fluffy –> prepare for bad weather
*Lower clouds –> bad weather is closer
*Small, puffy clouds –> storm on the way
When it comes to weather prediction: What happened yesterday is likely to happen today; the pattern only changes when some new influence or disruption occurs to break it.
The air tastes like:
A not-too-tart lemon.
Water straight from a woodland stream.
Buttercup.
Yummy.
Light and promising.
Fresh basil.
Ice cream.
Lukewarm.
Crisp beer.
Something thick and sticky and a little salty … lemon salt water taffy came to mind.
Floral.
Crisp.
Like fresh sweet tea.
White meringue.
Fresh asparagus.
Cream cheese.
Watermelon.
Sweet.
Floral Italian soda like rose flavour fries, food from a stand at the beach.
Hot.
Soup on a day you wanted a salad.
Mealy, like an overripe peach.
Blue freezie.
Greek salad and fries – a combination of summery fresh and comforting.
Sweet.
A clean and crisp taste, but warm, like a cantaloupe.
Fresh, clean, salty.
Delicious cold water.
Clean.
Fresh apple cinnamon.
Cucumber.
Tart.
Not very pleasant.
Cold whipped cream.
Freezer air.
Sharp.
Light, happy. No starch?
Floral fresh.
Apple.
Refreshing, not like mint more like cold water. with a hint of sweet.
Mushrooms.
Lemon zest.
Refreshing.
Crisp and fresh.
Salty sweet green grass, or another green edible plant like Sorel.
Blue and ice-cube-y.
Chives and Saskatoon berry.
Nutty.
Crisp Cold Apple.
Tap water.
Salty.
In what I am calling the weather,
anti-blackness is pervasive as climate. The weather necessitates changeability and improvisation; it is the atmospheric condition of time and place; it produces new ecologies.
– [Christina Sharpe]
Influences/Disruptions/
Re-alignments/To Remember
[collective headlines] June 16 through 30, 2021:
* 851 deaths this year: ‘Catastrophic impact’
* 25 sudden deaths in 24 hours
* 126-year-old record decimated at peak of heat wave, along with 58 others
*The discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools
*The costs of natural disasters from extreme weather are rising rapidly
*Sir John A. Macdonald statue moved from park
*Police filmed kneeling on Black teen’s neck
*Wait-list for surgeries, diagnostic procedures grows
*Canada locks up Black immigrants, asylum seekers longer than other detainees
*Public health agency reports spike in confirmed cases of Delta variant
*Environment Canada says people should take cover if threatening weather approaches.
*Video showing police officer grabbing a Black transit rider by the throat
*2 Catholic churches on B.C. reserves burn to ground
*40,000-lb explosive detonated off U.S. east coast
*Muslim community leaders push policy changes to combat Islamophobia
*An 83-year-old temperature record was just broken
*An Ontario biologist estimates as many as 960,000 plastic helium balloons may end up in Lake Erie every year
*Dangerously hot temperatures coming this weekend
*Forecasters are warning of dangerously high temperatures lasting until next week
*Delta variant ‘spreading rapidly’
*How a ‘heat dome’ is leading to record high temperatures
*new record for highest temperature ever recorded in this country
*Smells become wet before a storm
Prediction for the coming summer:
hotter and wetter weather, with more frequent storms.
*Whispy clouds –> nice weather on the way
The conditions we breathe in are collective and unequally distributed, with particular qualities and intensities that are felt differently through and across time.
– [Kristen Simmons]
The air
will smell
like flowers
“many of our wild flowers are found here at the ends of their ranges, meaning the land can just barely nourish them.”
– Wild About Wild Flowers
The 2021 learning the signals / change is coming seed mix contains two plants natural to the region; both prefer full sun:
Yarrow prefer to grow on disturbed ground and adapt to any kind of soil. They attract beneficial insects, thrive in hot conditions and can be used as a remedy for anxiety and stress.
Harebell are hardy and spread quickly. They are quick to respond to change and can persist in poor quality sites.
As you plant your seeds:
Note how the air smells +
how you might describe its taste.
Imagine how the air will smell next year.
Repeat to yourself:
“the pattern only changes when some new influence occurs.”