The fifth season...mud!

There is little in the way of snow cover in Lennoxville, QC in the Townships, with just puddles and mud left.

The fifth season is upon us, known affectionately in Vermont and parts of southern Quebec, as the mud season. I was down in Sherbrooke yesterday, and with the 11C high, there was lots of melting snow, mud and dirt. It is not a pretty time of year, and some areas will progress through it quicker than others. I noticed quite a bit less snow in the Sherbrooke area as they were spared the more intense storms this winter. My neighborhood on the other hand is looking at several weeks yet of melting snow and ice. We were spared this season last year with limited snow cover and a very early and downright hot spring. This will not be the case this year with a more traditional March expected.

The temperatures today and tomorrow along with perhaps 15-25mm of rain in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec will certainly help with the melting process. We start the day at a mild 3C (38F) here on L'Ile Perrot. It is dry for the moment, but low pressure lifting north in the central Great Lakes will drag a cold front across the St. Lawrence Valley overnight tonight. Ahead of the front today we can expect a few showers with gusty southwest winds developing up to 50km/h at times later today. Rain will start this evening and continue all day Tuesday tapering off to drizzle or perhaps a few mountain flurries by late in the day. Temperatures will be very mild in the 7C (45F) range both days, and dropping only down to 3 or 4C tonight. The balance of the work week looks cloudy and cooler with temperatures dropping back below freezing and perhaps a few snow showers.

A house rests at an unnatural angle on Plum Island, Massachusetts after another coastal storm pounded the region. In all 12 homes have been deemed to dangerous to occupy.

 Plum Island, Mass
My vacation the last couple of years has been closer to home in the New England region rather than North Carolina. I discovered a barrier island off the northeast coast of Massachusetts that I just love, reminds me a little of the Outer Banks. It has unfortunately, like all east coast barrier islands, taken a beating this past year. First hurricane Sandy and now back to back Nor'Easters have pounded the beach with high surf. The result has been severe beach erosion which led to a couple of homes collapsing into the surf this past weekend. In all 12 homes are too dangerous to occupy at this time. Plum Island is experiencing what so many coastal communities up and down the east coast have been since last September.