Snowfall warnings issued ahead of snowy system en route to Alberta

Saturday, October 26, 2013, 5:59 PM -

COOL DOWN IN ALBERTA: Tune into The Weather Network on TV for LIVE coverage of Alberta's first snowfall of the season.

Those 20-degree temperatures from earlier in the week are about to become a fond memory for much of Alberta.

Winter-like weather is on the way, starting Saturday night with rain, then snow, strong winds and plunging temperatures into Sunday.

"It's really going to feel like a winter storm," Elena Lappo, a meteorologist at The Weather Network, said Saturday morning.

Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings of up to 20 cm in parts of the foothills, and those are expected to expand as the system moves in Saturday night.

Although it will begin mostly as rain, the system will switch over to snow by Sunday morning, including the city of Calgary, which is set for between 10 and 20 cm of snow into Sunday night.

"We're expecting it sometime late morning for Calgary," Lappo said.

Strong winds and rapidly dropping temperatures will make it even worse for people in southern Alberta.

Although temperatures on Saturday could be in the teens, by Sunday morning they will start to plunge, low enough for windchill to become a factor as the day progresses.

Even after the system moves out on Monday, sub-zero high temperatures will remain, even beneath mostly clear sunny skies.

The good news is the chilly temperatures shouldn't last too long -- although motorists should prepare for a messy commute Monday morning.

A milder air mass will move across western Canada by mid-week, just in time for Halloween.

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