The spring forecast for Alberta is out and keep those snow shovels nearby

Spring is about to arrive in Alberta, and the forecast for the season shows some lovely weather moving in, but the threat of snow will be lurking.

Daily Hive spoke with Alysa Pederson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), who dished on what to expect.

Pederson says the longer range guidance indicates a warmer than normal spring, which details weather for March, April, and May.

“March is likely to come out a hair above normal; expect April and May to be decently above normal,” Pederson said. However, when it comes to precipitation in Alberta through the spring, that’s a bit more difficult to forecast.

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“It’s a little more challenging. There’s not too much certainty in the model guidance, but we are still in a strong El Niño right now but moving to neutral this spring and then a La Niña starting at the end of summer into fall, so that transition will have an impact on how the jet stream will move across Canada,” Pederson added, with a similar situation unfolding back in 1998, 2010, and 2016.

When meteorologists look at those three years, there was above-normal precipitation, which allows for some wiggle room in the forecast to point to the chance of the same thing happening this spring.

As for what Albertans should expect, Pederson added that “spring is a wild season weather-wise, so even though we may see mid-teen temperatures, don’t put away your snow shovels or brushes yet; be prepared for changing weather, things can change pretty rapidly. Enjoy the warm temperatures when they happen because it’s not a guarantee.”

While we enjoy the warm temperatures blasting Alberta this weekend and keep our eyes on the steep drop in temperatures shortly after, we’re sure we’ll see some weather whiplash throughout it. Nothing beats Alberta weather!