By Geoff Smith (@smithco on Twitter)

Winter arrives after a fall that had everything

Dec 21, 2016 | 9:15 AM

LETHBRIDGE – There’s little winter could possibly surprise us with at this point.

The season officially began at 3:44 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21. But during the fall months southern Alberta has already pretty much had it all, from record heat in November to a lengthy cold snap in December before Pacific air blew in this week.

“Ranchers and farmers were thinking they weren’t going to get their crop in until next year. And then November was almost the September you never got,” said David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.

“You’ve seen, really, what nature can throw at you all in a short period of about 10 or 12 days.”

Phillips expects the swings in the weather to continue as the winter goes on.

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“The flavour might be a little cooler than normal. But it’s not going to be a brutal winter,” Phillips said, adding like the fall, the winter season will have its swings. “My sense is, when you get to the dead of winter you might see some tough weather. But I always think what we’re going to see is a little more back and forth, up and down.”

A more immediate question is, will there be a white Christmas? Phillips says the guideline is 2 cm of snow on the ground, and while this week began with twice that much, the warmer air may very well finish it off before the weekend. But that doesn’t mean young sledders will be out of luck.

“There is a possibility on Saturday, with some snow, and temperatures that are -3,. very close to normal, maybe a degree colder than normal, a little cool at night. But, some snow.”

by Geoff Smith (@smithco on Twitter)

Winter arrives after a fall that had everything

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