The April forecast for Alberta is out and more spring snow might be lurking
The April forecast for Alberta is out, and it’s shaping up to be a warmer-than-usual spring for the province.
While large portions of the province deal with heavy snow to wrap up the end of this month, Daily Hive spoke with Environment and Climate Change (ECCC) scientist Christy Climenhaga, who gave us the rundown on what we can expect weather-wise for the month ahead.
Climenhaga noted that the northern half of the province, including Edmonton, has a stronger likelihood of warmer-than-normal conditions compared to Calgary.
“It doesn’t mean that every single day will be that way. It just means that there is kind of a better chance of seeing more of those days than less,” she explained.
Typically, daily highs for the month of April sit at 10.8°C in Calgary and 10.4°C in Edmonton.
Precipitation-wise, it’s a toss-up, with April bringing anything from spring snowstorms to rainfall.
“With precipitation, it can be really tricky for our seasonal forecasts,” Climenhaga explained.
“There are different reasons for it, but it can be as simple as a big storm can roll through and drop a whole bunch of rainfall or snowfall, and then suddenly, your forecast is very different.”
And despite the saying, April showers don’t always bring May flowers in Alberta.
“If you look at our last 30 years of climate data and average out all of the years and what we’ve seen, Edmonton still, on average, sees 15 to 16 centimetres of snow in the month of April.”
For Calgary, it’s even more pronounced, as Climenhaga noted April is YYC’s second-snowiest month.
“There still could be some snow to come.”
However, some trends suggest wetter-than-normal conditions in the extreme north and drier-than-usual in the south, though confidence is low.
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It’s cold now; when will it warm up?
Relief from the snow and drizzle is on the way as we close up the month of March.
For Calgary, periods of snow and flurries are expected to begin Thursday night and into Friday and Saturday, with overnight lows bottoming out at -12°C. Conditions will start to improve Sunday and into Monday, when temperatures will climb to 11°C.
ECCC
Edmonton could see up to 10 centimetres of snowfall over the next little while, with lows of -11°C in the forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
YEG will hit the positive side of the mercury on Monday, with temperatures reaching a high of 7°C.
ECCC
Are you looking forward to entering April with some warmer temperatures in the forecast? Let us know in the comments below.