The December forecast for Alberta is hinting at a WILD weather ride
Parts of Alberta have already been hit with rounds of snow this month, and the forecast for December suggests plenty more wintry weather is on tap.
Daily Hive chatted with Alysa Pederson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), on how the December forecast is looking for Alberta.
You may want to keep that heavy winter coat near the front door for a good portion of the month.
oasisamuel/Shutterstock
It’s a bit clearer picture for what Albertans are in store for during the first couple of weeks of December, with a cool snap to kick off the end of this month, before a bit of a flip comes into place.
“The indications last week were that cool weather was going to stick around, but we’re actually starting to see a bit of a flip now. The first week should be relatively nice, maybe normal, maybe slightly below normal temperatures,” Pederson said, with the normal temperatures being around -1°C in Edmonton and zero in Calgary.
Enjoy those temperatures while they last, with the forecast hinting at a cold period on tap to blast into Alberta around the 9th to 11th of December.
“That’s kind of what I have the most confidence in right now, a dip to end this week, a warm up into next week, and then a drop there into the -15°Cs, potentially,” added Pederson.
Thrown into the uncertainty is the chance of a polar vortex event, which is signalled by what meteorologists call “stratospheric warming events.”
It occurs when a part of the stratosphere warms up, it destabilizes the jet stream around the polar vortex, and destabilizing the jet stream makes it weaker and allows the cold air that is generally in the Arctic in northern Canada to slump down into the Prairies.
When it comes to precipitation, that’s a bit harder for meteorlogists to accurately call for this far out, especially at this time of year, as the province sees big transitions from warm to cold.
Albert Pego/Shutterstock │ Ronnie Chua/Shutterstock
Those transitions usually bring some sort of low-pressure system and a frontal passage, which can bring some snow with it around this time of year. The big question is just how much may come with them, like what Calgary and southern Alberta saw earlier this week, and when.
Pederson added that as we go into December, and especially into Christmas, it’s important to be prepared for some of the more classic bone-chilling, winter weather Albertans know all too well.
“We’ve had some Christmases where we are in the dumps, like at -30°C for daytime highs, and that’s not out of the question this year at all. The next two weeks, we look to be on a little bit of a roller coaster. By mid-December, we’re already looking at being cool, cooler than normal by quite a lot. I would tell people to get prepared for if we end up in a situation where we do get a warm-up towards the end of the month, great, but be prepared to be cool.”
While we are zooming towards the holidays and winter weather, we’ve got you covered on how often Calgary and Edmonton have seen white Christmases so far this century, and if you’re looking for some things to do, check out 27 of the best winter and Christmas things to do in Alberta this year.