John Cassidy

Growing Lemons and Limes in South Coastal BC, Canada YouTube video by Fruit Trees and More

Thanks. The (slight) overhang is about 8 feet above the ground.
I use a string of 5W lights (November-March) to protect the tree if it gets close to freezing (a thermostat turns the lights when it drops to about +2C / 36F). For all the details, see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX-R...

Probably both. Blast likely the loudest.

Hi Peter, I haven’t seen the NASA report, but it could be that the entry point is quite different than the bolide “blast point”. There can be several blasts points, but often 20 to 30 km altitude for bolides.
I look forward to your column! Cheers

The sonic boom, likely from a #meteor, picked up on seismographs in Metro #Vancouver — around 910p PST 3 March 2026

#BCStorm #BCStormWatch #BCwx

Good catch, Ryan!

Growing Lemons and Limes in South Coastal BC, Canada YouTube video by Fruit Trees and More

Sound good!
For all the details on growing citrus here in Canada:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX-R...

Thanks - so true! Welcome back, Ryan!

Thanks, Ed.

Growing Lemons and Limes in South Coastal BC, Canada YouTube video by Fruit Trees and More

Yes - in-ground close to a south-facing wall. I planted it 5 or 6 years ago and it now produces abut 20-30 lemons each year. It should produce 100-200 when full grown.
See: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX-R...

Well, there in the Okanagan Valley you have the best peaches, apricots, bing cherries, plums, and the list goes on and on... but here on the island, we have the best lemons!
I use a string of 5W light bulbs to keep the tree warm on those nights where the temperature dips below freezing (~10 nights).

Fresh lemons on an in-ground Vancouver Island lemon tree. Bright yellow lemons and green leaves.

Welcome to March! It is time to pick another dozen lemons from my backyard lemon tree here on southern Vancouver Island 🇨🇦
🌱 ☀️
Heart-healthy lemon baking ideas are welcome!

Photo of old paper seismogram showing ground shaking from the M6.8 Nisqually earthquake as recorded near Victoria, BC (150 km away).

Map showing how people across greater Victoria felt shaking from the 2001 M6.8 Nisqually earthquake (150 km away). Colour coding is used to distinguish between weak shaking and moderate-strong shaking.

The 2001 M6.8 Nisqually #earthquake was felt by most people in southern British Columbia, and was well-recorded (even on old paper drum recorders). Damage in #Victoria included broken windows, broken pipes, and items knocked off shelves.
Detailed study:
pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/art...
⚒️🧪

Yes, I remember our earthquake research centre here on Vancouver Island filling up quickly with media!

yes, time flies!

Photo of a Victoria newspaper with a large headline onn the February 28, 2001 M6.8 earthquake near Seattle. This article also shows some of the damage from the earthquake.

25 years ago today (at 10:54 a.m.), a damaging M6.8 earthquake rocked #Seattle, rolled #Victoria and was felt across southern BC and the #PacificNorthwest. This was a deep #earthquake (52 km beneath the surface) in the subducting Juan de Fuca plate.
Details:
pnsn.org/education/pn...
⚒️🧪

Yes - long-period (slow shaking) “surface waves” travel long distances and can cause high-rise buildings to sway.

Earthquakes This page is part of the Hazard Maps and Tools section in the ClimateReadyBC site. It includes information on earthquakes in B.C., how B.C. is taking action, hazard maps and tools, funding opportuniti...

Thanks - no - you shouldn’t lose any sleep!
This is a great study that provides new details on the tectonics but it doesn’t change our estimate of earthquake hazard.
Vancouver Island is a region of high seismic hazard though - so being prepared is important!
climatereadybc.gov.bc.ca/pages/earthq...

Map of South America showing how shaking from the 2010 M8.8 central Chile earthquake was experienced. The strongest shaking was in central Chile, but people in highrises as far away as Sao Paulo, Brazil felt gentle swaying (no damage).

DYK that the 2010 M8.8 Chile earthquake caused highrises in Sao Paulo, Brazil (~2900 km away) to sway? (no damage) earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...
In North America this suggests that a M9 Cascadia #earthquake could be felt (no damage) by people in highrises as distant as Toronto and Chicago.
⚒️🧪

Photo showing damage to a bridge on Ruta 5 from the M8.8 Chile earthquake of February 27, 2010.

Photo showing substantial damage to a 2-storey building in Curico, Chile from the M8.8 earthquake.

15 years ago today - a M8.8 subduction #earthquake and #tsunami struck the coast of Chile. A fault ~500 km long and 100 km wide broke, the Nazca plate slipped up to 10 m. The city of Concepción moved ~3 m to the west in 45 seconds.
So many valuable lessons for the Cascadia subduction zone.
⚒️🧪

Photo of a large bamboo clump in southern Vancouver Island.

Photo of a large clump of bamboo on southern Vancouver Island.

Bamboo on a winters night, southern #VancouverIsland.
🇨🇦 📷 🌱

Sand, brown driftwood, big waves and grey skies. A southern Vancouver Island winter storm.

Surf's up on our normally tranquil southern #VancouverIsland beaches today...
Tomorrow the big winds arrive!

A thread for the 15-year anniversary of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. I won’t have a chance to post it on the day, so I’m doing it a couple days early. Note that the work I’m posting was carried out by many brilliant people. 1/

Thanks so much for this important thread, John!

This seems like a great moment to talk about the importance of science communication!

Science communication matters because it connects scientific research with people, giving folks information they need to make informed decisions about everything from health to hazards.

Photo of a grey squirrel mid-jump. Front legs and tail outstretched.

Photo of a grey squirrel about to jump along the top of a cedar fence.

The squirrels have a real spring in their step today....

Thanks!!

Good question! I don't know, but there should be a "contact us" link that will let you submit questions. Cheers.

Yes, southwest British Columbia has a mild Pacific climate - not too hot (70-80F summer) and not too cold (40-50F winter). Here on southern Vancouver Island it doesn't go below freezing very often... I use a string of 5W light bulbs to keep my in-ground lemon tree warm if it does go below freezing!

Photo of the February vegetable garden, with green arugula, beets, Swiss chard and lettuce.

Photo of dark green kale.

Photo of garlic starting to grow. Brown soil and rocks visible.

The February garden is very happy this year, I wish we had planted more! Beets, arugula, lettuce, kale and swiss chard. Garlic is starting to grow now, also.
#VancouverIsland 🇨🇦
🌱

It just feels like March...