Rare winter thundersnow phenomenon hits Calgary (VIDEOS)

After being treated to mild weather throughout the day, Calgarians were surprised by the sudden onset of rain and hail shortly after 9 pm on Monday.

Aaaaaaaand it’s thunder-hailing in #yyc right now. 2021 is having a “hold my beer” moment vs. 2020. #abstorm #calgary #yycnow pic.twitter.com/fPAS2JAQ3z

— Andrew Cunningham (@idledmuse) February 23, 2021

The hail was followed by thunder and lightning and soon turned into snow. This phenomenon, often referred to as “thundersnow,” moved quickly across southern Alberta; however, Calgary may get another 1 to 3 cm of snow today.

This is uh…gonna be an interesting drive home pic.twitter.com/3Tu3JaiamO

— Kyle Brittain (@KyleTWN) February 23, 2021

#abstorm brief pea to dime sized graupel at glenmore landing, some of the biggest graupel I’ve ever seen! pic.twitter.com/9U6X3R9VjE

— Ben C (@Zombery360) February 23, 2021

“A unique atmospheric setup created just the right conditions for wintertime lightning to strike southern Alberta Monday night,” says The Weather Network, “Spring-like double-digit  temperatures and powerful winds gave way to an intense band of heavy late-night snow, also accompanied by thunder and lightning.”

Well then👀West Central #yyc 9:15pm #abstorm pic.twitter.com/Ar8enmUonq

— George K. (@Kolowrocki) February 23, 2021

Caught some snow lightning just now #abstorm pic.twitter.com/eDI0wGyn3p

— Krys Stewart (@KrysonCJAY) February 23, 2021

The thundersnow storm didn’t last long, but the heavy and quickly accumulating snow created some near-whiteout conditions in the Calgary area, making travel a little treacherous, before carrying on across southern Saskatchewan early Tuesday morning.

Thunder-blizzard!

Thunder and lightning, rain, hail, and snow.#abstorm #yyc #Calgary #thundersnow pic.twitter.com/Aew3QbRBXv

— Stacey 🇨🇦 🔥 (@RedZTheBest) February 23, 2021

It’s currently -3°C in Calgary, and we could see a high of 0°C today.

• See also:
  • Videos capture meteor lighting up the sky over parts of Alberta
  • Here’s where you can escape winter walking among flowers, fountains, and birds
  • 20 distanced things to do in Calgary this week: February 22 to 28

Temperatures will hover around 0°C for much of the week, although Friday and Saturday will bring some snow into the city, with as much as 5 cm forecast for Friday.

Expect a high of -9°C on Saturday (which, when you think about it, really isn’t that cold for February) before things warm back up moving into next week.

If this trend continues, we may get lucky with some early spring weather in March.