Where's the Snow?

When we left Sweden to celebrate Amanda’s 22nd birthday in Italy last November, there were no signs of winter.

We departed Italy a few days later into perfect skies.



When we landed in Gothenburg — one year ago today — 30 centimeters of snow had fallen.



A year later, it’s only barely cold enough for snow and the precipitation is nowhere to be found. Meteorologists say there hasn’t been this little snow in Sweden at this time in more than 100 years.

There’s a thin layer of snow on the ground in northwestern Sweden, but not nearly enough to open any of the famed ski resorts I’m looking forward to experiencing in the coming months.

Two months ago, the same meteorologists promised the third straight winter with below-normal temperatures. Admittedly, they did forecast a mild fall with temperatures dipping quickly by the time winter officially arrives on December 21.

Maybe I've been spoiled. My first two winters here have been the two coldest, snowiest since World War II. Still, I hope things turn around just as suddenly this November as they did last year.

No Bad Weather, Only Bad Clothing

“Där finns ingen dålig väder, bara dålig kläder.”

“There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.”

It’s one of the most popular Swedish sayings, and I finally learned the true meaning tonight.

I threw on one of my warmest fleeces and walked across town to our friends’ apartment a little after 8 to catch some March Madness hoops action.

I wouldn’t exactly say it was warm outside, but we’ve had much colder nights over the past few months.

Amanda and I ran the paved loop around Falköping earlier this afternoon and couldn’t stop talking about how much the weather had improved during the two weeks I was back home in California. Virtually all of the snow had melted and sidewalks and roads were dry. It really looked and felt like spring was right around the corner.

I left our friends’ place a little before midnight and walked out into a legitimate snowstorm. I couldn’t believe how much snow had fallen in only three hours.





I love fleece jackets. A quality light fleece can rival a thick down, in my opinion. As warm as they are, though, fleeces are not waterproof. Tonight’s blizzard was a wet reminder.



Swedes say there’s always one short yet big storm right before spring actually arrives, and I hope this is it. If the long-range forecast is even close to accurate, it looks like things could finally warm up significantly next week.