Winter weather to arrive in Calgary with a vengeance next week

It’s already been more than two weeks since the official first day of winter and still, the real cold days have been nearly next-to-none.

But, CityNews meteorologist Michael Kuss says Calgarians can expect a true blast of winter starting this weekend.

“Expect a taste of the arctic air on Sunday, a bit of a break on Monday, really setting up long term starting on Tuesday. When I say long-term, at least five-plus days where we’ll be into that polar vortex, arctic air, not just in Calgary, but really across most of the country,” he explained. “The first blast of winter will be a rough one around the city though, with temperatures from Wednesday all the way through to next weekend not climbing above -20°C.”

Despite distaste for extreme frigid temperatures, Calgary — and much of Alberta — is very much in need of the snow.

Earlier this week, Environment Canada said 2023 was the second warmest year on record for the city.

Warm and dry conditions thanks to El Niño made for temperatures in May and December that are much higher than normal, and drew little precipitation.

On the bright side, Kuss explains that the snow won’t likely be the star of the show.

“There’s not a lot of snow in the forecast, it’s the arctic air that will be the bigger component as we get into the middle of next week,” he said. “But we will see at least, some very light snow on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday is a bit of a break; into snow again on Tuesday and Wednesday, that’s when the arctic air really starts to filter in and really take hold.”

Not to look forward to however, are the extreme sub-zero temperatures.

Kuss says from next Wednesday through to the end of the week, highs in Calgary will likely not exceed -20°C.

Alberta RCMP are also reminding drivers to use caution when travelling on the roads this weekend, saying increased snowfall and dropping temperatures will have an impact on the roads.

RCMP also advise being prepared when driving in the winter, and checking Alberta 511 for roadway updates before heading off on a trip.