Alberta’s extended winter pause soon comes to an end
Ready or not, wintry weather will return to Alberta in the days ahead
A long reprieve from the heart of winter across central and southern Alberta will soon come to an end.
Folks across the region are likely starting to notice the return of subfreezing temperatures and even snowfall in their long-range forecast.
Enjoy this weekend’s milder weather while you can. Change arrives next week.
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Winter hit pause after a strong start
The season kicked off with quite the show of force back in December, with below-seasonal temperatures migrating south across the province in time for the holidays.
Winter seemed to hit pause after that. With the exception of a few blips here and there, we saw above-seasonal temperatures between the end of December through early February with temperatures that soared as high as 20°C in spots.
Some weather stations haven’t reported snow in two weeks, including Calgary, where it hasn’t snowed at all so far this February.
Conditions look to change by next week
This weekend will be the last mild stretch of weather, with readings a few degrees above seasonal for Calgary and surrounding areas before temperatures plunge.
A trough settling off the West Coast will stoke the return of cold temperatures and opportunities for snowfall as Arctic air seeps south across Western Canada.
Alberta’s temperatures could trend 5-10+ degrees below seasonal by the middle of next week. Calgary’s forecast high next Wednesday is sitting at -10°C, which would be a first there since the start of January, approximately 40 days ago. Some forecast guidance suggest temperatures could drop even colder late next week.
What about snow?
An opportunity for widespread snow will likely arrive around the beginning or middle of next week. This setup will see an Arctic front sliding south while a low-pressure system south of the border ingests Pacific moisture as it slides east.
Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across Alberta.