Article content

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 a sunny sky to colder and snowy conditions, with a cold front moving through Calgary and region on Wednesday.

Article content

Brian Proctor, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Tuesday will see 18 degrees 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.”

Article content

Proctor said the snowfall is going to be “terribly heavy” into the western foothills and up into the Rocky Mountains: “Probably 20 to 30 cm for them.”

“It’s been a very interesting winter and early part of spring so far for us, and it’s really been a high amplitude pattern in the upper atmosphere.”

More moderate conditions are forecast for areas east of Highway 2, with a total forecast snowfall of five to 10 centimetres, 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 moving forward.”

While it is good news for farmers, the moisture deficit is so high in much of the province that even with significant amounts of precipitation, it is not going to alleviate some of the long-term concerns.

“But we’re definitely seeing more moisture in the foothills, which is a benefit,” Proctor said.

“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.”

Share this article in your social network