Edmonton gets another spring snowfall — but there are benefits

Two months ago on Groundhog Day, life-sized mascot Balzac Billy predicted Alberta would get six more weeks of winter.

It was right — and then some.

On April 7, Edmontonians woke up to fresh overnight snow, making for a slower commute. This, after the existing winter snow accumulation hasn’t fully melted away yet.

Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Alysa Pederson said while we saw warmer-than-normal temperatures at the beginning of the year, cooler weather came back at the end of February and stuck around.

“In March, it was kind of above and below-normal, and all over the place. We are starting off April relatively cool from what we would normally suggest for springtime,” Pederson said.

1:59 April snow heading to Alberta

Still, people itching for spring are gearing up for warmer weather.

At Salisbury Greenhouse in Sherwood Park, seedlings are growing and flowers are blooming. It’s a true escape from winter.

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Rob Sproule said while he is ready for warmer temperatures, snow later in the season is actually a good thing for gardeners.

“Looking at the amount of moisture we have been getting, it’s been snow, thaw, snow, thaw — and that’s wonderful. It gives you more moisture than the big snowpack,” Sproule said.

“Moisture that comes later in the spring, with a little thaw gets right into the roots and less of it flows off.

“It’s great moisture and it’s wet snow and it’s not going to stick around.”

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It was a different story three years ago in 2023, when dozens of forest fires broke out across Alberta at the end of April and beginning of May.

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It was the start of a record-breaking wildfire season in Alberta and the most destructive fire season in recorded Canadian history.

The total number of fires was in line with the five-year average of 1,100 for the 2018-2022 period, but the total area burned was a 10-fold increase over the 190,000-hectare average for the same period.

Over the 2023 season, 48 Alberta communities and more than 38,000 people were evacuated due to forest fires.

Canada as a whole saw a record-breaking wildfire season that year, when more than 6,500 wildfires burned 18.5 million hectares (46 million acres) — about five per cent of the country’s entire forest area and about double the size of Portugal.

All 13 provinces and territories were affected to varying degrees, with tens of thousands of people evacuated and at least four firefighters killed.

Sproule isn’t keen for a repeat.

“The dry conditions have gotten a little scary the last couple years, so I embrace this.”

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