‘Long period of snowfall’ in forecast for Alberta, says Environment Canada

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” This verse from the popular Christmas song could perfectly describe the weather in much of Alberta over the next few days.

A large swath of the province, stretching from the Canada-U.S. border to Grand Prairie, is under a snowfall warning, with the hardest-hit areas expecting more than 30 cm of snow before decrease Saturday evening.

“(Edmonton) is expecting approximately 15 to 20 cm of snow, however, it is possible that in some parts of the city totals could reach up to 25 cm,” said Global Edmonton weather specialist Phil Darlington. “Snow is expected to start falling overnight (Friday), through Saturday morning.”

Tiffany Lizee, a global meteorologist in Calgary, says “the first two snowfalls on Friday are expected to bring Calgary and Lethbridge approximately 5 to 10 cm of snow.”

“This will intensify Saturday morning as a surface low passes through Montana, pushing 15 to 25 cm toward east-central Alberta and a total of 20 to 35 cm over the weekend. »

Calgary is on the western end of the weather system, “so it’s possible most of the snow will miss the city,” Lizee said. “But if it doesn’t, Calgary could get another 10 to 15 cm of snow by Saturday afternoon.”

The southeastern part of the province, around Medicine Hat, is expected to be the hardest hit part of the province.

Snowy roads will also create difficult driving conditions.

Edmonton police said between Wednesday morning (Nov. 20) and 12:30 p.m. Friday, 491 citizens reported being involved in a collision, including 45 hit-and-runs.

Calgary police said that over a 48-hour period, ending early Friday morning, officers responded to more than 300 traffic collisions, including 67 hit-and-runs.

Staff Sergeant Andy Woodward of the Calgary Police Traffic Unit told Global News: “The intersections are like glass and they are the most dangerous areas of the road. »

“Drivers should keep their distance from other vehicles,” added Woodward. “If you anticipate that a vehicle is going to slow down or stop in front of you, or if you see a vehicle four cars ahead of you turning on its brake lights, I suggest you start braking yourself, do not wait directly for the car . in front of you to brake, because it is likely that you will slide into the back of this car.

The temperature will also be cool. The normal daytime temperature in Calgary this time of year is -1°C, but it will be close to -13°C in Calgary and Edmonton this weekend.

It will be “five to six degrees cooler with the wind chill,” Darlington said. “Overnight Friday and Saturday we cool down to below to average temperatures and feel closer to -20C with the wind chill.”

In response to falling temperatures, the City of Edmonton announced Friday that it would activate its “severe weather response” beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, and ending the following Sunday. (December 1.)

The city said the policy aims to ensure a “coordinated and urgent response” to protect homeless Edmontonians from potentially deadly winter conditions.

“Once the snow clears, winds will also blow from the north,” Lizee said, “with gusts up to 50 km/h.”

We should get some relief from the weather by Tuesday when the forecast for Calgary is sunny with a temperature near freezing and Edmonton -4°C.

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