Early forecast calls for more April snow next week

It’s a stark reminder to Calgarians that mother nature is still calling the shots — just as golf courses are opening in the city, some forecasters are calling for a big dump of snow early next week.

Early forecasts suggest snow will fall starting Monday and it has the potential to leave parts of southern Alberta looking like a winter wonderland in mid-April.

The good news is the daytime highs for Monday and Tuesday are expected to be above zero, with the overnight lows barely below the freezing mark, so a good chunk of the snow could melt quickly.

Despite this, Environment Canada meteorologist Justin Shelley says motorists should still be prepared for changing conditions.

“We’re going to see a drastic change in the pattern by early next week,” he says, saying an upper trough is moving in from the west. “It’s going to drastically reduce our temperatures over the middle of next week.”

“It’s also going to produce a low-pressure system that’s going to track across the prairies and produce some winter-like conditions.”

Shelley says there is still some uncertainty with the system, and it’s still too far out to accurately predict snow totals. He says the foothills and areas at higher elevations west of Calgary are more likely to get higher accumulation totals.

“Calgary and southeastern portions will see some accumulating snowfall,” Shelley says. “It looks like between Monday night and possibly into Wednesday night.”

He says it shouldn’t come as too much of surprise for Albertans, the areas around Calgary are typically hit with more snow in the spring months than during the winter.

“It’s that time of year where we can really see anything happen,” Shelley says. “It’s certainly a dynamic time of year.”

In the meantime, Calgarians should continue to enjoy spring weather for the rest of the week and through the weekend.

Friday will see a mix of sun and cloud and high of 15 C, according to Environment Canada. It will get even warmer on the weekend with an expected high of 17 C on Saturday, and 19 C Sunday.

More details on Calgary weather and the extended forecast can be found here. For the latest traffic and weather updates every 10 minutes, listen to CityNews 660.