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Weather defies patterns

Seemingly typical extreme prairie weather systems swept through Central Alberta in November — except that warm and cold temperatures fluctuated by a whopping 50 degrees.

Seemingly typical extreme prairie weather systems swept through Central Alberta in November — except that warm and cold temperatures fluctuated by a whopping 50 degrees.

November started off unseasonably warm, with thermostats climbing to a high of 16.8C by the end of the first week. Then an arctic cold front came through mid-month, and the temperature bottomed out at a record-breaking overnight low of -36.2C on Nov. 24.

“That’s 50 degrees of temperature change. . . . When you look at it that way, you could say ‘Wow, that’s a huge change’ ” — even for the Prairies, which are known for weather extremes, Environment Canada meteorologist Lisa Coldwells said on Wednesday.

Coldwells said such unusual “seesawing” was caused by two air masses. A chinook system of “super warm air” was replaced by an arctic cold front, which smashed overnight records and made some Central Alberta communities the coldest in North America.

Last month was also snowier than usual, with 21.4 cm falling, compared to the November average of 16.9 cm. Coldwells said it’s more typical to get snow later in the winter.

But normals often don’t make much sense in Alberta, added Coldwells, where weather tends to be anything but moderate.

This week continues to be slightly colder than normal, with highs of -7C compared to the average of -3C.

But Coldwells is predicting a warming trend next week as the Pacific air mass that’s already warming up Calgary and Southern Alberta shifts northward to cover more of the province.

By Dec. 8, the daytime high is expected to be about 2C, and the overnight low is expected to be -6C instead of the -18C we were to get on Wednesday night.

lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com