Alberta faces up to 20 cm of Easter snow this long weekend
The Easter weekend will feel more like winter in parts of Alberta, including in Calgary, with a spring chill and bout of snowfall pushing through
A snowy Easter Sunday is in the cards across a large swath of Alberta as chilly temperatures dive south across the province.
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A cold front swooped across the province on Saturday—and there’s a decent helping of snow in the forecast throughout the region. Even Calgary could get in on the accumulating snow through Sunday.
Expect difficult travel amid reduced visibility and slick roads.
Easter snow on the way for Alberta
Moisture crossed over the Rockies on Saturday night, bringing snowfall to portions of southern Alberta beginning in the pre-dawn hours on Sunday. Temperatures hovered around the freezing mark overnight when the snow fell.
We’ll likely see a rain-snow mix along the QE2 on Sunday afternoon, with snow for the higher terrain of the foothills.
Folks around Calgary are likely to see wet flurries during the day, with the potential for steadier bursts of snow arriving Sunday evening into the overnight hours. Parts of the city could see as much as 10 cm of slushy accumulation.
Highway 3 is forecast to see slushy and snowy conditions, especially west of Fort Macleod and across higher elevations.
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Snow will gradually lift north of Calgary through the overnight hours, migrating toward the northern foothills. Meanwhile, additional amounts of heavy snow will continue in the foothills toward the Rockies through Monday afternoon.
Expect the heaviest snowfall totals around the southern foothills south toward the international border. Some areas and ski resorts could see more than 20 cm of fresh accumulation. Banff Sunshine Village remains open until May 19, so the forecast is welcome news.
Spring snowfalls come with substantially more uncertainty due to the convective nature of the systems and marginal temperatures to support accumulating snow at lower elevations. Locally, 5-10 cm of snow is forecast for the Calgary area, but amounts can vary over short distances.
Springtime snow is no surprise on the Prairies.
Calgary has seen 10 cm of snow so far this month, which is about half of the 21 cm we’d expect to see fall in the city during a typical April.
Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across Alberta.