Extreme Cold Warning for Calgary
Posted Dec 30, 2017 9:43 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It seems Mother Nature doesn’t want to let go her icy grip on Alberta.
Extreme cold warnings blanket most of the province, including Calgary, and on Saturday morning the windchill in the city hit -40, approaching a record.
On top of the bitter cold, there’s been more snow, making for nightmarish driving conditions in and outside Calgary.
Environment Canada meteorologist Dave Carlsen told 660 NEWS this is definitely not the winter norm.
“Usually when the snow comes in it moderates the temperatures a little bit but right now, I look at my observations and the windchills right at about -40 in Calgary and with the snow falling a few centimetres overnight, man that makes for a pretty harsh morning,” said Carlsen.
Unfortunately, he said the deep freeze will stick with us.
“It looks like the cold air is really just going to stay in place for the next few days. This Pacific frontal system that’s moved through, it brought a slight warming but barely noticeable and brought a little bit of snow but once that moves off, the cold air from the north is going to reinforce itself.”
The cold could put a damper on New Year’s Eve celebrations. The City of Calgary has said if the windchill drops below -30 Sunday evening, some of the outdoor events might have to be cancelled.
On the upside, Carlsen is sticking with the longer range forecast calling for a big warm up starting New Year’s Day and highs above zero by mid-week.
