Leslie Cholowsky
Editor
With big snow, up to 10-15cm, forecast in parts of the province for Tuesday and Wednesday, including a chance for the Flagstaff County region, things aren’t about to get any better once the snow passes
through.
Parts of Alberta saw snow starting early Tuesday morning, with it gradually moving east throughout the day, off into Saskatchewan. Central portions of the province could receive anywhere from 10-20cm accumulation once the system has passed. Once that system clears, a polar vortex is driving a cold weather
snap currently hitting most of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
A big temperature contrast started Tuesday, as that huge low pressure system descends as the snow tracks
to the east. A polar vortex is due to cause temperatures to vary by as much as 30 degrees late into this
week, as the cold air sinks into the southern end of the province.
The polar vortex is a broad area of low pressure high in the atmosphere above the Arctic that strengthens in
the winter and weakens in the summer. The polar vortex isn’t a storm, nor is it dangerous on its own. The only
hazard associated with the polar vortex is the dangerously cold air that can spill out of the Arctic, which
can last for long stretches in extreme cases.
By Wednesday, temperatures are expected to drop more than 20 degrees below seasonal for this time of
year, with daytime highs forecast for a -25 range, and nighttime lows in the high -30s. That is expected to continue to deteriorate, with weekend highs expected to reach no higher than -30C, and nighttime lows near -40 being forecast for the region for Friday, and not much better on Saturday, at -38, not taking into account any wind chill factors.
Things will slowly improve past the weekend, but dangerous wind chills will still make for extreme cold weather Sunday and into early next week. The 14-day forecast on Monday, Jan. 8 saw temperatures after the frigid weekend slowly improving, back to daytime highs in the mid teens, and night time lows in the
high teens that could return as early as mid-week next week.