Snow creeps lower in Alberta as chilly air settles over region
Cold-weather lovers across parts of Alberta can break out the party hats and the brushes over the next couple of days as the season’s inaugural snowfall looms for portions of the foothills.
A slug of chilly air sweeping over the province will send freezing levels falling, allowing rain to change over to snow for areas like Banff and Kananaskis.
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A trough dipping over Western Canada will set the stage for cold air to push across much of Alberta heading toward the weekend.
Calgary and Lethbridge climbed into the mid-teens on Thursday afternoon. Change is coming, though, as a cold front steadily pushes across the province into Friday.
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By Friday afternoon, high will just scrape 10°C in Calgary, while folks closer to the foothills see temperatures top-out in the single digits.
Meanwhile, clouds and showers building behind the front will allow for a chance for precipitation through Friday and Saturday.
Falling freezing levels will allow much of that precipitation to fall as snow in the mountains, and the zero-degree line will creep into the foothills and produce the season’s first flakes.
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This will bring periods of light snow into Banff and Kananaskis through Friday evening. The freezing level will remain high enough in elevation that the Calgary area should stay plain rain.
Accumulations will remain relatively minor and short-lived, but some areas higher up may see enough snow to sweep it away by Saturday morning.
We’ve already seen some accumulating snow up the Icefields Parkway from Banff, with a picturesque dusting spotted near Peyto Lake on Thursday afternoon.
Header image courtesy of Matt Melnyk via X, formerly known as Twitter.