The Amusing Paradox of the Vancouver Winter

Most weekends when I call up my parents my father will ask how we're doing in the snow, either having read about weather warnings in BC or likely because its very snowy in Manitoba. Vancouver gets very little snow to be honest and its typically fleeting. The picture below shows the first of two snowfalls we had this year. The second was actually a heavier fall but I didn't get a picture of it in 2 days and by then it was gone. For those of you in Manitoba I'll let that sink in. Gone in 2 days ;)
Most winter weather out here is grey and rainy with the occassional bright day thrown in for good behavior. This photo is from Christmas Day of 2009 and shows a light covering of morning frost out by Stanley Park as we were out feeding chickadess and seeing raccoons.
Not that the entire city is spared mind you, since we live by the sea and have a very low elevation we have it easier than other places. This picture is from our first winter in Burnaby when we were living part way up Burnaby Mountain and had some heavy snow for a few weeks and probably a month of some sort of covering.
The downside to all this mind you is that Vancouver is totally unprepared for actual snow. The bus lines shut down in more than half an inch of snow and nobody has any idea how to drive safely on a good day much less in the snow. Any day even resembling winter is a good one to stay home or take transit if you are truly forced outdoors.