Get ready to chill, Albertans. After a relatively mild winter, seasonal weather is about to arrive first in the form of snow and then in freezing temperatures.
Snowfall warnings
Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings Tuesday morning, stretching along the mountain parks from Banff to Jasper, and east across the foothills along the Yellowhead Highway corridor to the Edmonton region.
A Pacific weather system was expected to bring 10 to 15 centimetres of snow, beginning Tuesday afternoon, to portions of west-central Alberta, spreading east across the Edmonton area though the overnight hours.
In Edmonton, drivers woke up Wednesday to several centimetres of snow and road conditions were hazardous. According to the Edmonton Police Service, three hit-and-run collisions, three injury collisions and 20 property damage collisions had been reported between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m.
In the mountains, 15 to 20 centimetres of heavy snow was expected along the Icefields Parkway/Highway 93 before the system tapers off on Wednesday afternoon. Blowing snow in open areas is also expected to create snow drifts over the highway.
The warnings for Alberta were lifted by Wednesday afternoon.
Extreme cold warnings
Meanwhile, the temperature across the province is expected to take a massive nosedive later in the week, according to Environment Canada, with extreme cold alerts already in place up north on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the weather agency said wind chill temperatures near -40 C are expected overnight across northern Alberta, including the Peace River and Fort McMurray regions.
Slight warming will occur during the daytime hours before cooling off again Wednesday night, Environment Canada said, adding temperatures are not expected to warm significantly over the next week.
The warning be expanded south over the next few of days, the weather agency said.
In Alberta, extreme cold alerts are issued when the temperature or wind chill reaches -40 C.
In Edmonton, the temperatures are set to begin lowering throughout the week, with a low of -20 C with wind chill predicted Tuesday, and then down to -27 C by Saturday.
“After numerous ridges this season in the jetstream, we have been well above average,” said Global Edmonton meteorologist Jesse Beyer on Monday.
“But that will change with a trough expected to dig into the Canadian west, opening the floodgates of Arctic air into the prairies.”
In Calgary, temperatures will be slightly less shiver-inducing, with around -15 C with wind chill anticipated Tuesday, and then a low of -23 C by Saturday.
Other areas around the province are expected to be just as frosty.
In Lethbridge, by Saturday it’s expected to be around -24 C.
Cities in the province’s north will see some of the coldest temps: Grande Prairie will get down to -30 C Saturday, and Fort McMurray will see a bone-chilling -32 C on the same day.
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