The AccuWeather annual Winter Canada forecast is predicting a snowier and colder season ahead for Alberta than in previous years.
“We’re going to be slightly colder for the winter as a whole, and snowfall will be slightly above normal,” said AccuWeather Canadian Weather Expert, Brett Anderson.
Anderson expressed that a moderate La Niña on the Pacific Ocean will change the overall weather pattern across North America.
“La Niña is the abnormal cooling of the ocean water along the equator. What we typically see with the La Niña is a very active storm track, and it gets quite snowy,” Anderson said.
He added, “We’re looking at a good ski season across much of Western Canada this coming winter.”
In addition to the snow, the presence of a strong jet stream will also likely make conditions windier than normal.
“Whenever you get a storm coming in, most likely that will bring some of that wind down to the surface, which brings more wind than usual. Once these storms move by, that will open the door to some cold blasts of air. We’ll have our fair share of cold blasts this winter,” Anderson said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see one or two days where we reach -38 °C,” he said.
Adding, “This year is going to be a really windy winter compared to normal, and more cold blasts than usual. The winter is going to be windy, cold, and fairly snowy.”
Anderson anticipates that snow levels in the Calgary area will increase, between 140 cm to 150 cm.
“Looking at the pattern, this usually leads to a pretty good ski season in the mountains,” he said.
