Extreme cold, dangerous travel conditions, major temperature swings before Christmas

The word in weather this week is inconsistency. Monday was -17, Tuesday looks to be -5 and Wednesday we're back to -17. Next week? Positive temps.

The ambient temperatures across most of central and northern Alberta will be dangerously cold for the next few days, but the wind chill values are of even greater concern.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued yellow-level cold warnings for a good portion of the west, explaining wind chill values are expected to reach -40 overnight and early Tuesday.

“Watch for cold-related symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness and colour change in fingers and toes,” ECCC said.

Wind chill values in Calgary on Monday night will sit around -30, but southern Alberta will experience a brief warm-up by Tuesday afternoon as a part of the very inconsistent weather trend forecast for the end of the year.

Calgary’s high on Tuesday will be 12 degrees warmer than Monday’s, and Wednesday’s high will be 12 degrees colder than Tuesday’s.

Another 19-degree change in daytime highs is expected from Sunday to Monday.

A moisture-laden system is expected to enter southern B.C. and then central Alberta starting Tuesday.

Heavy snowfall accumulations are expected along the QEII and will start to taper off by Thursday morning.

This will make holiday travel difficult, as the combination of wind, cold surface temperatures and intense rates of snowfall will compromise road conditions and visibility.

Calgary should sit just south of the bulk of precipitation; however, a slight deviation could change that.

Highways in the higher elevations through the Rockies will be quite treacherous by Wednesday night, so if possible, it would be better to travel earlier or later in the week.

A special weather statement was issued by ECCC because of this additional hazard for Christmas Eve:

“A significant snowfall of 10 to 20 cm is forecast for central Alberta beginning late Wednesday morning,” ECCC said.

“Snow is expected to begin near Red Deer and will spread to the north and northeast through the day, reaching Edmonton and areas near the Saskatchewan border by the afternoon.”

At this point, Calgary is expected to measure around one to three centimetres of snow with this event—with snow starting on Tuesday.