Weather whiplash: Alberta in for wild temperature swings in February

We may be starting February off quite brisk, but a new forecast for the month shows Alberta will warm up, cool down and warm up again.

The Weather Network (TWN) has released its outlook for February, with a promising glimpse of reprieve from the extreme cold this month in Alberta, at least for a little while.

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According to TWN, the coldest weather right now can be found across the Prairies, but that is set to change over the coming days.

The Arctic will be on the move and will very quickly bring a return to harsh mid-winter conditions to areas in eastern Canada that have been cold for the past three weeks. Meanwhile, milder weather will return to Western Canada.

TWN adds that the month will bring an active pattern at times across the Prairies, with several clippers tracking across the region.

There is the expectation that the temperature flip-flops will tip to the cold side of seasonal from the central Prairies to the Great Lakes, with more of northern Alberta leaning towards below seasonal and central and southern Alberta slightly creeping into the above seasonal range.

Near the end of the month, more cold air is expected to settle into western Canada. However, TWN says that pattern change isn’t expected to snap into place and will take some time.

So, there you have the February forecast for Alberta.

Albertans usually brace for a massive deep freeze in the month of February. Maybe we’ll escape a fierce cold snap this month? Our heating bills will thank us if so.

While we are at it, let’s embrace what Alberta’s got going for us during the winter months. We’ve got two ski destinations that are ranked among the best in the world; get into it!