For the second time in a week southern Alberta navigates snow event

Messy conditions expected to clear in Calgary. Jodi Hughes has a look at the five-day forecast from the Sky Watch Weather Centre.

As expected, the Friday morning commute was challenging across southern Alberta as the combination of snow and strong north winds caused rapidly deteriorating road conditions.

The bulk of precipitation fell over the southwest corner of the province as well as in the higher elevation mountain passes, but even areas with lower totals experienced snow-covered and icy roads.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), as of 5:30 a.m. Friday Calgary had recorded around five centimetres of snow, compared to 12 in Waterton and 14 in Pincher Creek.

Calgary drivers faced significant challenges, and most surfaces like sidewalks, parking lots and roadways were persistently snow-covered and slick.

Poor visibility and heavy snowfall accumulations prompted ECCC to issue a yellow-level blowing snow advisory south and east of Calgary and a yellow-level snowfall warning for the southernmost regions of the province.

The color-coded alert levels were introduced by the national weather agency this week as a way to better inform the public about weather concerns.

In their snowfall warning for the Lethbridge area ECCC explained, “Snowfall with total amounts of about 15 centimetres continues,” with another five centimetres expected throughout the day.

They also advised, “Roads and walkways will likely be difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow. Visibility will likely be reduced at times.”

Temperatures will remain below seasonal today with Calgary’s high expected to sit at -11 C, which is equal to the average low this time of year.

The remaining snow from Monday’s system plus the new snow from this current one will not melt for a while with daytime highs on Saturday also expected to sit around -10 C along with overnight temps close to -20 C.

Wind chill will also be a factor in southern Alberta due to strong north winds.

In Calgary, the sustained winds will be around 20 to 30 km/h with gusts closer to 40 or 50 km/h for most of the day Friday.

A shift in the upper pattern will bring some moderation by the end of the weekend.

Daytime highs will return to seasonal values or be slightly warmer than average by the middle of next week, and conditions will largely be stable across the region with a mix of sun and cloud and only a slight chance of precipitation on Tuesday.