Foggy patches may linger over the next few days for Red Deer and central Alberta.
Janelle Gergely, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Red Deer’s forecast calls for clear skies on Friday, but with no new weather systems passing through the area, the air flow could remain stagnant for fog to persist.
“We need something that has some winds. Even the next week looks like a pretty stagnant flow, at least for central Alberta,” Gergely said on Wednesday.
“It’s looking like there might be some winds right along the mountains. If those push eastward into Red Deer, you might be in the clear. But that’s to be determined.”
She said much of the province is experiencing that stagnant air flow.
“There hasn’t been any recent larger weather systems to come through and move out that low-level moisture as well as the low-level pollutants which are leading to the low air quality. Both of those are able to add up as time goes on.”
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On Wednesday morning, central Alberta woke up to a fog advisory, which is issued when near zero visibility in fog is expected or occurring.
Environment Canada warned visibility could be significantly and suddenly reduced to near zero. Travel could be hazardous in some locations.
Conditions were expected to improve Wednesday afternoon, though areas of poor visibility would likely linger throughout the day. Patches of dense fog were also expected to return in the evening in most areas.
Gergely said a special air quality was issued this week for the Edmonton area which happens any time the air quality index approaches seven.
Late Tuesday night the index for Red Deer reached a moderate risk of five before dipping to four. The risk was expected to climb back up to five on Wednesday and Thursday.
“A lot of the fog has to do with the inversion and the warm air above us. Under the inversion, pollutants are able to build up as people drive their cars and heat their homes. Until we have a system come through and flush out those pollutants, those numbers will likely stay high.”
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As far as the temperature, Red Deer is above normal. The normal high for at this time of year is -7 C, and the normal low is -18 C.
She said by the end of the month temperatures will be fairly normal.
“We might see slightly below normal, but I’m not seeing any extreme cold.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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