Calgarians embrace the cold on first snowfall of season

The first snowfall of the season hit Calgary over the weekend — along with heavy wind — but are Calgarians ready to embrace old man winter?

Environment and Climate Change Canada says wind speeds reached 70 kilometres per hour at the airport on Saturday, with around 1-2 cm of snow hitting the ground.

“Maybe the west side got a little bit more than that,” said meteorologist Rob Griffith.

However, he says the cold isn’t here to stay, with some cold on Thanksgiving Monday before warming up mid-week.

“For example, Wednesday we have a high of 11 C in the forecast, and Thursday a high of 17 C,” Griffith said.

While not long-lasting, CityNews asked Calgarians if they’re ready for old man winter.

Kathleen Neufeld says the change is different, but she is fine with it, considering how nice the weather has been.

“We had a really nice fall season. Yesterday we went out on a little hike, and we were in t-shirts,” she said.

“The change in weather is different, but I’m fine with change.”

Some say they weren’t expecting the first drop of snow on Saturday, but they were good to go by Sunday.

“Just for today (Sunday), we are prepared because we were doing the Thanksgiving Walk and Run. But I have my winter tires on, so I guess I’m ready,” Chris Brennan explained.

Meanwhile, Griffith said it was too early to tell if snow would hit Calgary for the last few weeks of October.

“There’s a chance that by the end of next weekend, you could be dropping back down towards freezing and maybe seeing some more snow, but that’s pretty uncertain right now,” he said.

What you can do, Griffith says, is pay attention to the forecast, and if you haven’t “winterized” for the snow, such as by prepping your garden or getting winter tires, head out and do so before a major snowfall strikes.