EDMONTON – Spring may officially be here, but for many people in central Alberta, it sure doesn’t feel like it.
On Tuesday, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for the Bonnyville, St. Paul, Cold Lake, Lac La Biche areas. Up to 20 centimetres could fall by the early evening.
Environment Canada had received reports that Highway 63 and Highway 881 between Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray had reduced visibility due to heavy snow.
The agency explained most areas under the warning could see as little as two centimetres, but areas under the main band could see up to 20 centimetres.
The forecast high for Edmonton on Tuesday was between five and seven degrees Celsius.
On the same day last year, the temperatures reached 31 degrees.
“Last year, we had a large area of high pressure over the region,” explained Global Edmonton meteorologist Nicola Crosbie. “Because the sun is quite powerful in May, 31 degrees Celsius is possible.”
“However, this year, an arctic airmass has dominated. So unfortunately, we can see snow quite easily as well,” she added.
“May is so unpredictable, in the last five years we had days over 30 degrees Celsius and days around five degrees.”
Global News found only two golfers out at Victoria Golf Course, and construction workers were given the day off due to the wind.
Both were taking advantage of the extra time to play a round of golf, and claimed it wasn’t actually that bad out on the course.
“You get really good drives, but everything else starts bouncing all over the place.”
“It sure beats the heck out of work.”
Evidently, Edmontonians were not impressed with what some are describing as the winter that never ends.
When informed of last year’s high, a pedestrian on Whyte Avenue said, “that’s a little hard to take – to imagine I could be outside on a deck somewhere enjoying the rays – and right now it’s snowing.”
Global News also spoke to one man wearing shorts and flip-flops.
“As soon as the shorts come out, they don’t go back in the closet. It’s that simple. If it snows, I’m still going to dress like this.”
Tuesday’s forecast sees snow changing into showers, mostly cloudy. Wednesday’s forecast high is 10 degrees while Thursday may reach 15 degrees.
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