LETHBRIDGE, AB – A big change in the weather is on the way this weekend and some parts of southern Alberta could see anywhere from a dusting of snow to potentially 10-15 cm.
A cold front will moving into the region Friday and that will bring very gusty wind (70-90 km/h) rain and then snow to some areas.
Environment Canada’s Kyle Fougere says it could be an interesting few days with a little bit of everything on the way.
“For Lethbridge, it’s likely to start as rain and then transition over to snow as we get into Saturday morning,” says Fougere. “So, we will likely have at least 2 cm of snow for the Lethbridge area by Saturday morning. The potential is there that if this switches over a little bit earlier we could see 5-10 cm of snow for the Lethbridge area.”
Right now, there are snowfall warnings for places like, Pincher Creek, Waterton, Crowsnest Pass, Claresholm, Okotoks, Banff and Kananaskis with possibly 10-25 cm by Saturday for those areas and places along the foothills.
Fougere says it is that time of year where conditions can change in a heart beat for southern Alberta. He notes temperatures will also plummet with highs barely getting above freezing for Lethbridge on Saturday and again for Halloween on Sunday.
“I think this will be shock to people because the last half of October has been above normal for the entire time for the Lethbridge area. When that cold front passes through (Friday into Saturday) that’s going to make the difference on when it changes from rain to snow,” says Fougere.
Temperatures will start to rebound somewhat on Monday as we get into the first week of November. Fougere expects conditions in Lethbridge will warm back up to the low teens again by Tuesday.