Prairie Weather (Rural Roots Canada) –  Snow for Alberta, Bitter Cold in Manitoba, and Saskatchewan gets both.

Thursday – Sunday

The ground in southern Alberta is again dusted with snow, and there is more to come.   The map below shows snow expected until Sunday at 6 pm.    There will be accumulating snow in Alberta, south of Red Deer (green on the map), and in southern Saskatchewan, west of Chaplin and Gravelbourg.    To the east, only light amounts of snow for the rest of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, where in some areas, no snow at all is expected from now through the weekend.

The scale on the right side of the map shows, not the snowfall accumulation, but the water equivalent.  In other words, how much water there would be if the snow melted.  So, even though it’s snowing 10-15 mm of water over the Cypress Hills, it doesn’t automatically translate into 10-15 cm of snow.    Factors such as temperature, humidity, available moisture, types of snowflakes, and wind all factor into accumulations.   So, they will vary.

Next question:  When does the snow fall?   Most of it will fall Friday night and Saturday.  A low pressure system in the Pacific will spread moisture along the west coast.  Some of that moisture will travel through Washington, Idaho, and Montana, pushing north into the BC interior, Alberta, and southwestern Saskatchewan:

Thursday:

Alberta

Clouds, light snow, fog, mist, will slowly end as an Arctic ridge continues to build southward.  In most of Alberta, the sky will clear, though clouds will stubbornly hang on in the south.   Snowfall accumulations will be minor.   It will stay cold all day,  with highs in most of the province below -10.  From Calgary north,  -15 may be the warmest it gets.   If you have vehicles with weak batteries, you may want to plug them in Thursday night, especially in the Lloydminster and Grande Prairie areas, where temperatures could drop below -30.

Saskatchewan

It’s staying cold all day in Saskatchewan, with highs across the province ranging from -15 to -20.   Midday snow in the Cypress Hills will taper off, and as arctic High pressure strengthens,  any remaining clouds in Saskatchewan should be gone late in the afternoon and evening.  Wind chill values in Saskatchewan in the evening could drop to -40, in areas where the sky clears.  ECCC is likely to issue extreme cold warnings.

Manitoba

The cold weather is entrenched over Manitoba as well, with highs near -20 across the province.   Some areas of the province, particularly central regions,  will be under cloud cover until late in the day when the strengthening Arctic high clears the sky.   Temperatures Monday night are likely to remain above -30, but will likely feel colder due to the wind.

Friday:

Alberta

Friday starts off cold and dry.   Most of the province will be clear, due to the big Arctic high, but early in the day clouds will move into southwestern Alberta ahead of the Pacific moisture that arrives late Friday afternoon and continues into Saturday, as shown in the animated map above.   The snow should begin south of highway 3 by late afternoon, spreading as far north as Calgary by midnight, then continuing further north early Saturday morning.    The clouds and snow will moderate the effects of the Arctic high, so temperatures in Alberta will peak near -10 in the south, but will continue to fall in the -15 to -20 range further north as the clouds and snow don’t’ arrive until later in the day.   For expected accumulations, refer to the maps above.

Saskatchewan:

Sunny and cold.  That’s about it.  At least until the late afternoon, when some cloud can be expected in southwestern Alberta, ahead of the Pacific moisture which will spread snow across the southwest late at night and on Saturday.   After midday highs in the -20 to -25 range, temperatures are likely to fall to the -30s by sunset.   The map below shows temperatures expected at 9:00 pm Friday night.  -30s are widespread across Saskatchewan.

Manitoba

Referring to the map above, it will be cold in Manitoba, though -20s will be more common than -30s, as seen in Saskatchewan.   It’s still put-the-horses-and-cows-to-bed weather, and the wind chill will undoubtedly make it feel colder.  As discussed above, Manitoba will see very little precipitation in this forecast period,  and indeed Friday will be dry.

Saturday

Alberta

As shown in the animated map above,  a Pacific low will spread moisture into southern Alberta, and snow can be expected across most of the agricultural regions of the province.  Accumulations will vary, and the snow will taper off as the day goes on.   Higher elevations in the foothills and Cypress Hills can anticipate higher accumulations, due to the upslope effect generated by the Arctic High pressure still present over Saskatchewan.   Mild and moist Pacific air aloft could boost temperatures in the mountains and foothills to near zero.   The rest of Alberta will have to deal with highs below -10 in the south, and closer to -15 to -20 in central and northern regions.

Saskatchewan

Some of the Pacific moisture that will reach Alberta Saturday will spill over into southwestern Saskatchewan, with an upslope effect enhancing snowfall totals in the Cypress Hills.  The rest of the province should remain dry and cold, with variable amounts of cloud.  Highs of -10 to -15 can be expected in the snowy regions of the southwest, while the rest of the province will struggle to get above -20.

Manitoba

As the Saskatchewan Arctic high slowly slides toward Manitoba, it gets colder.   No snow is expected, and most areas will be sunny.   But very cold.   Afternoon highs across most of Manitoba will range from -20 to -25.   Saturday night, most of Manitoba will endure low temperatures below -30.

Sunday

Alberta

Alberta will get a break from snow on Sunday, though the sky should remain cloudy most of the day.   A few afternoon flurries will develop over the foothills and perhaps in the Edmonton area, but accumulations should be minor, as there is no organized storm system to bring in the precipitation.  It should be light snowfall, generated by an upslope flow around yet another Arctic high developing in the Territories.    It again looks like mild Pacific air aloft will warm the higher terrain of the mountains and the foothills to near zero, while lower elevations will be much colder, with highs near -15.

Saskatchewan

Disturbances that generated Saturday’s snow in Alberta will drift across the province Saturday, so brief periods of light snow or flurries can be expected  across both southern and northern regions of the province.   Most of central Saskatchewan could remain dry.   The arctic high that kept the province so cold through the week will drift into southern Manitoba, but it looks like another one is about to follow through during the week, so there is only slight relief from the cold, with Sunday’s highs from -10 in the south to -20 in the north.

Manitoba

Temperatures across most of Manitoba at breakfast time will be in the -30s, as the Arctic high pressure moves out of Saskatchewan and into southern Manitoba.   This may be the coldest day of the season so far, as in most areas, highs will remain below -20.    Snowfall is not expected.   If you need to escape this bitter cold, there’s a non-stop flight to Phoenix from the Winnipeg airport at 5:00 pm.

COMPARE: Prairie Weather This Week – Dec 30