Skipping a season: Heavy snow disrupts the western Prairies
Meteorologist
Monday, October 2, 2017, 6:46 PM - The first week of October brought a fall storm that packed a wintry punch to southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Heavy snow paired with 80-100+ km/h winds created whiteout conditions in many locales in southern Alberta, resulting in power outages and main highway closures throughout the region.
As of Monday evening, Fortis Alberta was reporting upwards of 10,000 customers without power, and 511 Alberta was still reporting numerous traffic accidents.
In an update on sections of highways 599 and 36 in Paintearth County, Alberta Emergency Alert described hazardous conditions which closed these roadways as well as many other major routes.
"Extreme winds and heavy snowfall has blocked the road, causing some large tractor trailer units to run off the road and block passage," they said. "Vehicles are in snow ruts, cannot turn around to retreat. RCMP and fire departments can't cannot attend further as emergency vehicles get stuck on route."
Severe rainfall was the main factor in Saskatchewan, accompanied by embedded thunderstorms, strong winds, and locally heavy snowfall.
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Weather Highlights
- Snow began overnight Sunday into Monday west of Edmonton, spreading east and south to reach Calgary and Medicine Hat by the morning hours
- As of 3 p.m. CDT, 35 cm of snow had been recorded in Cypress Hills Provincial Park in Saskatchewan
- Coronation, Alta., received 20-25 cm of snow on Monday, says Environment Canada
- Snow should taper off for Alberta today, with some additional cm for Cypress Hills
- The slow-moving low will continue to bring some snow to southwestern Saskatchewan through late Tuesday afternoon
- 80-100+ km/h wind gusts throughout the province on Monday, including in Calgary
What's next?
Snow will taper off overnight for Lethbridge and the rest of southwestern Alberta, though icy temperatures and gusty winds will keep conditions raw through Tuesday morning.
Much calmer conditions are forecast today across the Prairies, although a few additional centimetres can be expected for the Cypress Hills.
Additional rainfall is expected for parts of central and western Saskatchewan, where Swift Current has already seen more than 30 mm of rain, and Kindersley has reported a whopping 56 mm. This soaking rain will hopefully put at least something of a dent in the significant rainfall deficits that have accumulated for the southern Prairies this summer.
A system should develop east Rockies and track north on the weekend, with the potential to bring some showers and mixing.
Temperature Trend
While temperatures have taken a nosedive behind the low pressure system, it won't be an early start to the deep freeze, as warmer air makes its way over the Rockies through mid-week and beyond.
Even with the warmer air moving in, however, fresh snowfall - particularly over southeastern Alberta and into the Cypress Hills - will work to keep temperatures lower-than-usual through Thursday.
It's mixed news for the long holiday weekend, however. While temperatures climb back to near or above average by Friday, below seasonal temperatures will spread northwest to southeast during the weekend, making for a cooler-than-seasonal Thanksgiving.
Stick with The Weather Network and theweathernetwork.com for updates as this story develops.
With files from Michael Carter
