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La Niña: Above average snowfall & colder winter expected for southern Alberta

A prominent Canadian forecaster says the country’s residents could experience everything from winter wonderlands to spring-like spells in the months ahead.

The Weather Network is out Monday (Nov. 30) with it’s Winter Outlook.

It says cooler Pacific Ocean temperatures off the coast of South America, also known as “La Niña,” will create a strong jet stream separating warm southern air masses from their colder northern counterparts.

Chief Meteorologist Chris Scott says this means most Canadians can brace for a wildly variable winter with major departures from seasonal norms.

In B.C. and here on the Prairies, for instance, Scott says forecasters are calling for above-average snowfall levels and temperatures below normal as well.

He notes the first half of December will bring periods of very mild weather, however late in the month and into January and February we can expect a “heightened risk of extended periods of severe cold”.

Scott points specifically to southern Alberta and parts of southern Saskatchewan which could see a fair bit of snow once winter really takes hold.

(With files from the Canadian Press)

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
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