After a very dry and warm start to December, Calgarians are going to have to get reacquainted with winter weather.
Weather patterns are shifting allowing Arctic air to enter Alberta once again. That cold air is expected to meet up with a Pacific low-pressure system in southern Alberta on Tuesday — meaning a significant amount of snow is likely.
With the cold weather expected to last for a while, once the snow does hit, it will stick around. Daytime highs are forecast to run between -5 C and -13 C for the next week, so it is unlikely significant melting will occur.
While all of that may disappoint the motorcycle enthusiasts and golfers, it should make the Christmas purists happy.
At this point, it looks like Calgary is one of many cities in the southern half of the prairies that will likely see an official white Christmas in 2017. Environment Canada defines a white Christmas as the presence of two or more centimetres of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. ET Dec. 25.
The federal agency gives Calgary a 55 to 57 per cent chance of having a white Christmas in any given year. Environment Canada will not come out with their 2017 prediction until Dec. 19.
Calgary was one of many cities that recorded an official white Christmas in 2016.
Not only did Calgary have a white Christmas last year, it also had a rare “perfect Christmas,” with two or more centimetres on the ground and snow in the air sometime on Christmas Day.
The month of December has been unusually dry this year. Typically Calgary will see snow on at least eight days of the month, making it the fifth snowiest month of the year. As of Dec. 16, no snow had been recorded at the official Environment Canada weather station.
A special weather statement, as well as a number of weather warnings, were issued for Alberta and British Columbia Sunday ahead of the change in weather patterns.
That low-pressure system is also expected to hit the southern portions of B.C. and Saskatchewan, which could make travel a little treacherous with snowfall amounts in some regions expected to hit up to 30 centimetres.
For a look at the current weather watches and warnings click here.
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