Relief from storm in sight, but be prepared for colder nights

She explained that should lead into sunny conditions Tuesday, with temperatures close to around 14 degrees come Thursday and Friday. But there are some things residents should be aware of.

“As the temperatures during the day are going to be above zero, the temperatures at night will be below zero until at least Wednesday night or Thursday morning, which means you’re in a freeze-thaw cycle. So, the snow that’s fallen will melt, or start to melt, but anything that is liquid will probably freeze in the evening or overnight period, so driving conditions could be surprisingly difficult,” she told LNN.

“It might be hard to spot that you have ice on the road, so even though the event itself will be ending today, the impact of that event will not be ending today. It could persist well into tomorrow [Oct. 1], even on Wednesday if the nighttime temperatures remain as forecast and should be near zero Wednesday night-Thursday morning.”

AMOUNT OF SNOW

Hazel said the amount of snow seen in Lethbridge was “a bit unusual” but the fact that the area saw snow in September is not totally uncommon.

According to the 1981 to 2010 Canadian Climate Normals, data suggests that the Lethbridge area can in fact get snow this time of year.

“Actually, you can get snow as early as August, according to the Canadian Climate Normals. I’m not talking a large amount of snow, it certainly is possible that you’ll get large amounts of snow and you’re not going to get snow every year in September, but it’s actually climatologically reasonable that you’ve gotten some snow this year in September and then of course it starts to ramp up quite a lot by the time we get into October, November…and then, November, December and January have very similar numbers as you would expect,” Hazel explained.

She added that it may be a “bit difficult to swallow”, seeing conditions like this, considering Lethbridge recorded a high of 28.6 degrees back on September 15 and a high of 20.4 on September 24.

“So to have that not very long ago and to have your daytime temperatures falling to around zero now, that might seem a bit abrupt but again, it is September and a time of year where we have a lot of variability, especially if we look from week to week – the passage of every low and high-pressure system really changes the weather you guys experience at this time of year, so that too is a bit jarring but not that unusual,” Hazel said.

TIME TO PREPARE

Hazel said a good takeaway from the pre-winter storm was perhaps a reminder to make sure you are prepared for the next season.

“It’s not easy and certainly not convenient but this could be used as a reminder and a catalyst to really get ready for the next season.”

Some of the things she suggested doing included checking and updating your emergency kit in your vehicle and to inspect your home’s furnace.

“Now would be a really good time to do that because you don’t want to be in a situation where your furnace stops working in the middle of winter,” she said, noting it’s also a good time to make plans to install winter tires on your vehicle.

“Check your property. Are all the shingles on your roof? We did have a number of severe weather events this summer. If you still haven’t checked whether your house has been damaged by that – this week, once this snow stuff is done and melted away, this is a really good time to do that,” she said,

“Check the trees on your property, make sure they’re not damaged or diseased, because they represent a hazard during severe weather, so get that tended to.”

Hazel added that you can make a habit of checking on people, like neighbours, to see if they have any needs or medical conditions that would mean they’d need extra help during an emergency situation.

The weekend storm caused a number of closures for local businesses, and regional schools on Monday.

by Justin Goulet

Relief from storm in sight, but be prepared for colder nights

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