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Winter has abruptly arrived in Central Alberta — and it’s expected to be a cold one

RCMP warns motorists to drive slower, watch for ice
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Caitlyn McLean, 10, leaves footprints in the snow in Red Deer’s City Hall Park, which blossomed with flowers only a few weeks ago. (Photo by LANA MICHELIN/Advocate staff).

Central Alberta has abruptly plunged from fall into winter, prompting police to caution motorists against driving too fast for the icy conditions.

Although temperatures were in the double-digits on Saturday, just two days later, the mercury was struggling to remain above zero.

It’s now officially lost the battle: Wednesday’s high is -2 C and Thursday’s is expected to be -7 C.

Icy roads have already caused one serious accident on 19th Street, southeast of Vanier Woods. RCMP responded to a single-vehicle rollover at about 7:20 a.m. A male and a female were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Corp. Michael Zufferli, of Red Deer RCMP’s traffic unit, said most accidents, so far, have been fender-benders, but more ice will build up on roads as temperatures fall.

He cautions motorists to allow a few extra minutes to get to their destinations. “Any hard braking or hard acceleration could lead to a loss of control.”

Environment Canada predicts below-zero weather until at least Nov. 11. Meteorologist Brian Proctor can’t see a warming trend in the 10-day long-range forecast.

While the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a mild, dry winter, Environment Canada’s forecast is the opposite. Meteorologists are advising Western Canadians to bundle up and prepare for a more severe winter than usual, with higher snowfall.

Proctor blames the cooling influence of La Niña, an ocean-atmosphere phenomenon in which sea surface temperatures across the east-central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3 to 5 °C. This usually lasts for about five months and strongly effects North American weather patterns.

The jet stream is now very high up in the atmosphere, allowing Arctic winds to sweep down through our region, said Proctor.

Highs are expected to be in the range of -2 to -7 C, with lows of -8 to -18 C — far below the typical highs of 5 C and lows of -6 for this time of year, Proctor added.

While October weather was close to the monthly average, and October precipitation was far below normal (12 mm compared to an average of 22.3 mm), Proctor expects November will be colder and wetter than usual — and the trend will continue into January and February.

But he added that La Niña should wane before next summer.



lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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