The foot and a half of snow that fell on southwestern Ontario over Christmas is mostly gone, washed away by three days of rain, and counting. Below-freezing temperatures are not expected to return until next Wednesday.

The Weather Network tells me that conditions are much the same in Buffalo, New York, which got almost twice as much snow as we did.

Now, a Christmas blizzard is absolutely normal for Ontario, although maybe I should say it is consistent with the pattern I have observed over some 68 years of sentience. This thaw -- not so much. That's weird.