Alberta has already received some snow this month, and the forecast for December suggests plenty more is on the way.
So cancel that gym membership. You will have plenty of heavy snow lifting to do when shovelling your driveway!
Daily Hive spoke with Alysa Pederson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), who said December is shaping up to be a snowy month.
One saving grace is that temperature-wise, December is looking to be above normal for much of the province. There is a 70% chance of above-normal temperatures from Edmonton right through to Red Deer and an even stronger signal for Calgary down to Waterton Lakes National Park.
Pederson added that although above-average temperatures are in the forecast, don’t count out any major cold spells that could creep into Alberta during December.
Alberta’s outlook for above-average precipitation extends to much of western Canada, with the province estimating a 50% to 60% likelihood of being above normal.
La Niña also has not formed yet and has been slower to form than anticipated; however, it’s set to be short-lived and weak and is forecast to form in the next month or so.
It will be active sometime in January through March, but the impact of La Niña on us will be smaller than the impact we saw with El Niño last year. La Niña’s impact is colder than normal and more precipitation, but it likely will not impact weather in December and maybe into January.
“Since we looking at more precipitation than normal, check the road conditions before you go out, make sure you have an emergency preparedness kit, good boots, and a shovel if you need it,” Pederson added.
“Keep the shovels handy. It looks like we will be getting more this year for sure than what people can recall from last year.”
Alberta was also on track to have its warmest fall on record, with September and October coming in well above normal; however, the cold snap that struck the province earlier this month has since subdued the shot at that record.