Love the holiday season or want to hit the hills? Ready or not, the weather in parts of Alberta is about to change as the first snowfall arrives on Monday, October 21st.

Is winter coming?

According to Justin Shelley, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the province is about to get a wake-up call—but we haven’t seen the last of our sunny autumn days.

“There is a low-pressure system off to the east, in Saskatchewan, and that system has already produced some snowfall,” he told Curiocity.

“South of Fort McMurray has received 12 to 13 centimetres, areas in west central portions of the province have received 5 to 10 centimetres, and now that this system has moved east we have a cooler air mass in place behind a cold front and we’re seeing some precipitation develop over western Alberta.”

These additional places include Calgary, Edmonton, and of course, the Rocky Mountains.

“We’re expecting it to continue throughout the day and spread to the east as the day progresses and overnight tonight,” Shelley continued.

“The snowfall is expected to remain confined to the foothills region and mountain parks between Banff and Canmore and south toward the Pincher Creek/Crowsnest Area where we could see an accumulation of around 10 centimetres.”

Don’t cancel your weekend plans!

Live in one of the bigger cities? Calgary could see about 4 to 10 centimetres, but most of it will likely melt on impact—which is normal for this time of year.

“Based on the longer-term outlooks for the rest of the month, we wouldn’t expect this to stick around. We’re going to see a pattern shift that’s going to bring much warmer temperatures back to the region. We might even see those daytime highs back into the double digits.”

“We will get that burst of snow today, but we’ll see that slowly melt away as the week goes on and it’s looking like the weekend could be quite pleasant”

Calgary, Alberta weather forecast

Photo via Environment and Climate Change Canada

Edmonton, Alberta weather forecast

Photo via Environment and Climate Change Canada

An early ski season?

As of right now, many popular Alberta ski hills including Sunshine Village and Lake Louise are projected to open in early November, but this is always subject to change —this is, after all, Alberta, where anything can happen.

As always we’ll keep you updated as the weather changes, snow is forecast, and ski hills change their opening dates.

Stay warm and enjoy yourselves out there, Alberta. With or without a pair of mittens on. 

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Cassandra Stefanic

Regional Editor, Prairies –Cassandra is a Calgary-based journalist with a deep appreciation for music, film, food, travelling, and storytelling. When she’s not chasing a story, writing, or editing, you’ll likely find her in the mountains, binge-watching a new series, at a speakeasy, cooking, or getting lost in a Taylor Swift re-record.

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