Cold weather and poor travel conditions Christmas Eve throughout most of Alberta

Another major temperature swing is expected for the middle of the week along with deteriorating road conditions—especially on highways north of Calgary.

Calgary’s daytime high on Tuesday was a seasonal -2 C, but the high on Wednesday will be 16 degrees colder.

Another wave of moisture is expected to enter the province overnight—potentially starting out as freezing rain around the Lethbridge area before transitioning to intense snowfall by the time that system reaches Red Deer in the morning.

The unofficial daytime high in Lethbridge Tuesday was 7 C, prompting a lot of melting, which could lead to icy road conditions once that precipitation and colder air enter the region.

A number of weather alerts were issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for the western half of the country, including a special weather statement for central Alberta, including Red Deer, and a yellow-level snowfall warning for the capital region, including Edmonton.

“A significant snowfall of 10 to 20 centimetres is forecast for central Alberta beginning late Wednesday morning. Snow is expected to begin near Red Deer and will spread to the north and northeast through the day, reaching Whitecourt in the early evening and areas near the Saskatchewan border by the afternoon. The snow will taper off by Christmas morning.”

Calgary will likely see some snow, but the bulk will remain outside of the city.

Not only will travel be dangerous on Alberta highways, but this snow through the Rockies and the B.C. interior has also amplified avalanche risk in the mountains, as that large accumulation of heavy, wet snow sits on top of layers that have endured a few dramatic temperature swings early in the season.

On Tuesday, there were avalanche control measures near Highway 93 in Icefields Parkway and the risk was rated as “significant.”

The low-riding jet will allow polar air to settle over most of the west for the rest of the week, but another major temperature jump will occur between Saturday and Sunday, with Calgary forecast to reach 0 C on Sunday, after a high of -18 C on Saturday.

Calgary’s Christmas Day forecast will be slightly cooler than average, but with sunshine it should feel warmer than it is.