It Never Rains But It Pours

The last couple days in Waterloo, Ontario have been eerily similar to an article of mine that was just published by National Geographic News.

First it was bitterly cold, but that’s to be expected in Canada. All of a sudden it warmed up to eight degrees Celsius, and it rained. Now, it is has plummeted back below freezing, leaving us with lots of ice.

If this had happened in the Arctic, it would be called a Rain-On-Snow event, and it would be in my article on the mysterious phenomenon.

In the Arctic, the ice layer that has turned my sidewalk into a skating rink would be turning the permafrost into the frozen foods aisle for muskox. Only problem is that muskox can’t warm it up, so they starve. In fact, in 2003, a rain-on-snow event killed over 20,000 animals. Bad news for the native people who depend on those furry beasts.

However, new research which I describe in the article will give the indigenous people an early warning system, allowing them to sprinkle some salt on the tundra to help save the population from starvation.