Airdrie residents are getting a reprieve from the bone-chilling weather they have been experiencing since mid-December but it won’t last forever.
David Phillips, senior climatologist with Alberta Environment, said the next cold snap won’t be as long or as brutal as the first one that arrived right before Christmas.
“This wasn’t your only bout of winter weather, but the next bout will be like the minor leagues compared with what you have just had,” he said.
Phillips said although the average high for December is -7.4°C, this year the region’s average temperature was
-11.2°C. In 2011, the temperature averaged -5°C. He added that snowfall is also up from the normal average of 40 centimetres by this time of year to 60 centimetres in the Calgary area.
“You guys have been in a deep freeze for sure, with temperatures reaching as low as -33°C with the wind chill,” said Phillips. “It has been cold and snowy, it has looked like winter, it has felt like winter.”
Phillips said Dec. 27 had a high of
-12°C in the area, and a low of -33°C with the wind chill. Ice crystals formed in the air that morning.
The weather turned on Dec. 28, with the arrival of some warm Pacific air, bringing the temperature up to a more seasonal -4°C. So far, the beginning of January has seen temperatures hover around the zero mark.
“You certainly won’t be sipping beer on a patio, but you won’t have to run from your office to your home,” said Phillips of what’s to come. “You have seven days in a row with no precipitation and that gorgeous Alberta sunshine, and temperatures normal to above normal.”
