`Terribly heavy' snow possible across region
As much as 30 cm expected to fall by Friday in parts of southern Alberta
Spring is going on spring break.
For the second time in two weeks, the weather is forecast to swing wildly from above-average temperatures and sunny skies to colder and snowy conditions, with a cold front moving through Calgary and region on Wednesday.
Brian Proctor, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Tuesday had a forecast high of 18 C with a mix of sun and clouds — a pleasant day for much of the southern part of the province.
“And then we're definitely looking at a change to the overnight period beginning up in the northern foothills and sagging down right through the Calgary area as we move through Wednesday,” he said.
“Definitely seeing sort of an increase in the chance of precipitation — wet snow likely beginning largely Wednesday evening and then continuing right into Thursday and into much of the day on Friday, before gradually tapering off.”
Proctor said the snowfall is expected to be “terribly heavy” into the western foothills and up into the Rocky Mountains.
“Probably 20 to 30 centimetres for them. It's been a very interesting winter and early part of spring so far for us.”
More moderate conditions are forecast for areas east of Highway 2, with a total forecast snowfall of five to 10 cm, Environment Canada said in a special weather statement updated Tuesday morning.
Proctor attributes the fluctuating weather patterns to significant ridging, which produces warmer weather conditions.
“It's a bit of a problem for us when we start thinking about how we're going to adapt our behaviour out there as we switch from one extreme to the other. But it's really been necessary for us to see this kind of spring snowfall to really help us from a moisture deficit point of view.”
While it is good news for farmers, drought conditions are so severe in parts of the province that even significant amounts of precipitation is not enough to alleviate longterm concerns.
“But we're definitely seeing more moisture in the foothills, which is a benefit,” Proctor said.
The latest wintry blast isn't expected to last long.
“We start to rebound as we move into the weekend, and then for the early part of next week, we look into the mid-teens for highs again, so this is a continuation of what we've been experiencing to a large degree.”
A city official said crews are ready for the coming storm, though Calgary may not see a significant accumulation of snow.
“We are monitoring forecasts, and thankfully our crews are still on their winter shift so we do have 24/7 coverage. We're staffed up for this winter event,” said Chris Mcgeachy, spokesperson for City of Calgary mobility.
“We anticipate that the rainfall will shift into snow early Thursday morning, and then we anticipate up to 15 cm of accumulation on Thursday,” he said.
Mcgeachy said crews will follow the city's snow-clearing priority plan, focusing on major routes and applying material.
“If you're commuting on Thursday morning, just be prepared for winter conditions — just leave a little bit of extra time to get to where you need to go,” he said.