Winter strikes back with heavy snow, gusty wind and a deep freeze

A major winter storm will slam central and north-central Alberta Monday night and through the day Tuesday with heavy snow and gusty wind.

• Hourly and 7-day forecast on our CTVNewsEdmonton.ca weather hub

Avoid highway travel (if possible), especially south and east of Edmonton where the strongest wind gusts and some of the heaviest snow will fall.

Visibility may be reduced to near zero in some areas, especially on exposed highways.

A winter storm warning is in effect for the areas in purple on the above maps. That warning has been issued due to the combination of heavy snow and the potential for gusts near 70 km/h.

A snowfall warning is in effect for the areas in red on the map; that includes the city of Edmonton.

Roughly 15 to 30cm of snow is likely for the Edmonton region by late Tuesday night. Some flurries and light snow will fall in the area through the day Monday, but the heaviest snow will start Monday night and continue through the day Tuesday.

The snow should finally taper off late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. Wind gusts in the city will be in the 40 km/h range Monday night and Tuesday before dying down Tuesday night.

Further east, upwards of 40 cm of snow is possible in parts of east-central Alberta.

Here’s a rough timeline for the snow storm:

While all that snow is falling, temperatures will also be plummeting. Edmonton will drop to the mid-minus teens by Tuesday afternoon (with wind chill in the -20s).

Daytime highs near -20 C and mornings near -30 C are likely for later in the week.

This will likely be a lengthy deep freeze as temperatures stay below -15 C through to early next week and may not get back above -10 C until the end of next week.