The February forecast for Alberta is out and a cold snap might be lurking

Alberta is about to glide into February, and a forecast outlook from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is teasing that it might be mild, but don’t count out cold air seeping into the province.

Daily Hive spoke with Alysa Pederson, warning preparedness meteorologist with ECCC, and Alberta should expect what it has seen for the majority of meteorological winter — average to above-average temperatures.

Thanks to the grips of a “relatively strong El Niño,” which provided the bulk of the province with the warmest December on record last year, temperatures should be on par with or higher than normal.

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The guidance for February does show high certainty for above-normal precipitation for the month, with 12 to 15 mm of precipitation usually recorded in January and February.

“That will likely repeat in February, potentially a little bit more,” Pederson added.

Climatologically speaking, the weather Alberta has been seeing this winter is pretty typical of an El Niño winter and comparable to the 2015 and 1997 El Niño years.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see a cold snap in February, don’t put away the parkas just yet,” Pederson added, but the likelihood of normal to above-normal temperatures is in play not just for Alberta but for all of the Prairies, along with much of the county, per the ECCC monthly forecast.

Environment and Climate Change Canada

For areas of the province crossing its fingers for some heavy precipitation heading into spring, Pederson noted that March and April are typically the snowiest months for the province, with June usually being the rainiest.