Wild weather wreaks havoc on Alberta

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Some wild weather rocked parts of the prairies over the last 24 hours.

There were toppled transports near Calgary, a more than 50 car pile-up west of the city near Brooks, and a wind fuelled wildfire that was uncontrolled for part of Sunday in the southern part of the province.

RCMP say five people were injured in that collision near Brooks, none though are life-threatening.

That fire leading to multiple evacuations and several destroyed homes.

Wildfire Alert Mar28 315PM Take necessary precautions. Parts of Southern Alberta https://t.co/L8ht6OCtPQ #ABfire #ABemerg

— Alberta Emergency Alert (@AB_EmergAlert) March 28, 2021

On Sunday and Monday, Alberta’s weather ranged from thunderstorms to wind warnings and almost everything in between. A low-pressure system from the pacific brought moisture and drastic changes in conditions through the evening into the morning.

“So as it tracks across the prairies, there’s lots of energy built in there, and that creates the warnings and the active weather,” said 660 NEWS meteorologist Michael Kuss.

What caught some by surprise was the huge swing between Sunday and Monday.

On Sunday, the high reached 15C with sun. Less than 24 hours later, the temperature had fallen 24 degrees.

RELATED: Wind warnings wrap up after blustering Calgary and surrounding areas

But there is a silver lining

“The snowfall that this system is bringing, across the prairies, especially across southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba is very good news, of course, that snowpack is needed because of the sort of moderate drought that’s happening,” said meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai.

Alberta is known for its variety of weather in the spring, so no one event can be tied to climate change, says Ramsahai — but that doesn’t mean we aren’t seeing the effects.

“When we get extremes, they stick around longer. When we get a lot of snow, we get more than usual, when we get cold weather, it’s colder than average. And so these extremes are just becoming a little bit more amplified,” said Ramsahai.

For many Albertans, this event is a stark reminder that winter weather isn’t over just yet.