December 3rd: This week we received our first official snowstorm of the 2025-2026 winter season. The highest accumulations occurred out in central however we still recorded a respectable 17cm as recorded at YYT. This not surprisingly was unfortunately accompanied by about 20mm of rain.

This was baby Scooter's (our new kitten) first time seeing snow and he just loved getting his paws into it out on the Catio.

I headed outside mid afternoon to tackle the driveway just after the changeover to rain. Snow was water logged and heavy but that's no problem for Honda Snowblowers.

With the driveway cleared, rain took care of what the blower left behind, by the following day the asphalt was completely clear of snow and ice before temperatures dropped once again.

All in all not a crazy storm but a much better start to winter than last season. It was January 2025 before I fired up the Snowblower for the first time and February for our first significant snowfall!

December 9th: Last night we received a second dandy dumping of snow, this time 15cm as measured at YYT.

This time the snow was dry and wind driven in to small drifts, overall a lot more friendly to move than the rain soaked mess earlier this week.

December 15th: This morning we awoke to another 12cm of snow on the ground, once again accompanied by about 10mm of rain. Not enough to melt the snowfall but plenty to make it heavier and harder to clear away.

My trusty 20 year old Honda 9/28 was ready for the task and has zero issues moving even the wettest, heaviest snow with ease. These Japanese machines just work so incredibly well requiring very little effort from the operator and are extremely reliable.

After this storm we received quite a bit of rain and mild weather which melted most of our early season snow. However, two major storms are forecast to hit Christmas day and Boxing day so stay tuned for updates!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith