October ‘very dry’ in southern Alberta, but ‘more normal winter’ on the way: Environment Canada

After near-record-breaking warm and dry weather in October, Albertans are being told to prepare for the arrival of winter.

That’s the message from Environment Canada after news just 2.4 mm of precipitation fell at Calgary International Airport last month, making it one of the driest Octobers on record, according to the federal agency.

It was also warmer than normal with an average temperature of 6.9 C — that’s 1.7 C above normal.

“It was the 13th driest and we recorded just 16 per cent of the normal precipitation in 141 years so it was a very warm and dry month,” says meteorologist Brian Proctor.

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However, despite the dry conditions around Calgary, some areas in the Rocky Mountains received significant precipitation, including Banff which recorded 163 mm of precipitation in October (2024), compared to the 29 mm during an average October.

“There was significant precipitation in the Rockies themselves,” said Proctor.  “Once you got off the foothills, we didn’t see much of anything at all, we didn’t get much east of the Rockies.”

The recent snow in the mountains is good news for ski hills, with Lake Louise planning to open on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

The forecast for Calgary early this week is periods of snow, Lethbridge periods of rain or snow, but by end of the week the temperatures are expected to jump again into the mid-teens.

Further east, the area around Medicine Hat is under a snowfall warning, with up to 15 cm expected, before temperatures return to high single digits on the weekend.

Proctor predicts a return to more normal winter-like weather for the second half of November, and he credits the return of La Nina, the climate anomaly caused by colder-than-normal temperatures in the north Pacific Ocean, that brings more precipitation to B.C. and colder-than-normal temperatures to the Prairies.

“Its going to be more acute, and that typically will mean more winter-like conditions for southern Alberta,” adds Proctor.

“By the time we get to Remembrance Day we are going to be settling into winter.”