Snow. In September. Seriously.
We’re sorry to say it, but it looks like parts of central Alberta, including Edmonton, will be blanketed in the white stuff mid-week.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement, saying a cool air mass will invade much of Alberta this week, “bringing with it weather that is decidedly more like winter than summer.”
The weather agency said a cold front from Northwest Territories is expected to move south on Tuesday and Wednesday, and it will bring precipitation with it.
“An Arctic high will drop in and that will cool our temperatures in all levels,” Global Edmonton meteorologist Jesse Beyer said.
“With ample moisture in the ‘snow growth region’ we will see snow develop. The fact that the freezing level will be quite low above the surface, we’ll likely see frozen precipitation survive the trip and land on the surface.”
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In the higher terrain of west-central Alberta, particularly between Grande Prairie and Jasper, the precipitation will likely fall as snow on Wednesday.
Environment Canada said current indications are that somewhere between five and 10 centimetres of heavy, wet snow will fall, but some areas may receive more than 10 centimetres.
The snow will move south throughout the day and evening, perhaps going as far south as Banff by Thursday morning.
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On Tuesday morning, the special weather statement was expanded to a snowfall warning for areas of western Alberta. Between 10 and 15 centimetres of snow is expected in the affected regions.
Areas to the south and east of this snowfall, such as Whitecourt and Edmonton, will likely also see some snow on Wednesday or Wednesday night, but the weather agency said accumulation is not expected.
“Even though highs will be above 0 C for Edmonton, we will still likely see snow,” Beyer said, adding he expected the City of Edmonton to see between three and five centimetres of snow.
“Much will melt on contact initially, but we may see accumulations — on grassy areas especially.”
Environment Canada expects the snow in the Capital Region to be “very wet and heavy.”
The current advisory stretches from Grande Prairie and Jasper, through Morinville, across to St. Paul and Two Hills, and includes Edmonton.
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One of the best ways to track locally hazardous driving conditions is from local viewer reports. The #yegtraffic hashtag is often used by Twitter users reporting traffic issues within Edmonton.
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