February 24 – Snowfall warning in effect. It’s about time.
For three weeks I have tried to hack up a post about how non-wintery this winter has been, and every time I tried, I could only think of the boredom and nothing ever happened. It’s been so long since the last post I can’t remember what was going on during our one week of real winter. Sure it was cold but a week of it does not a winter make.
Generally, this winter has been a real cakewalk. Most of the southern half of the province has been brown for the majority of it, the occasional squall flying through whitens the prairie in streaks, but it doesn’t last.
Trying to find something to take a photo of has been next to impossible for me, the list of whys is ten feet long. It seems we have been stuck in a sort of stasis here, still white in the fields around, a inch or two of flakes here and there just to keep a cover but never enough for a sled. No nice waves, no big optic shows, no drifts, ONE frost. Temperatures hovering right around the freezing mark and albedo effect have kept a nice base layer of divot filling snow, a few brown bits were just starting to stick out before we got 10cm Sunday night, a few more over the week and a shot of wind. Now everything is smooth and setup nicely for what could be coming over the next 24 hours. 15cm and I think we can drag the the Cats out for a ride.
Could be a foot, could be an inch.
A nice big bomb is crashing the coast, expected to reform near Calgary tomorrow morning, then the fun begins.
Southeast winds are already heading toward the low, by noon tomorrow they should be flying south to fill the hole, laden with fresh snow. PASPC mentioned optimum conditions for dendritic growth and 15:1 snow/water ratio, which means goosefeathers, piles of them.
A snowfall warning is in effect for an area from Grande Prairie to Oyen, winter storm warnings should start flying when the wind picks up. It’s a nice setup, but there is no block to the east so it will scoot past quickly.
Hard to believe, for me anyway, that spring is less than a month away already. Is this our last taste of winter already?
Before scouring the driveway of the 10cm we picked up Sunday, I decided to set up a camera and see what a time lapse of the procedure would look like. 2 hours in 30 seconds. I wish!
Finally! It’s shaping up for a fantastic snowfall in the mountains tonight and tomorrow. Here’s to hoping the highways are good enough to make it out for pics.
March 4th, 2012 at 3:13 pmHiya Dan
March 4th, 2012 at 11:03 pmI like the way this system is evolving, could be a foot of new stuff not too far away. Mountains are going to get a nice dump.
I’d be happy with 15cm here.
8.3 cm in my yard as of 6:45 this morning. Nice stream of juice up there on IR imagery!
March 5th, 2012 at 10:43 amJust got in from digging 15cm+ of heavy stuff out of the driveway. Wind picking up it’s getting ugly out there.
March 5th, 2012 at 8:34 pmIcefields parkway is closed according to AMA.
I measured 15cm when I got home from work at 4:30. It was a sketchy drive home on highway 2 as well. It sure was pretty out there before the wind picked up a bit.
March 5th, 2012 at 9:05 pmI saw the Icefields Parkway closed yesterday. A good sign. I’m watching the forecast for Wednesday, Thursday, if there is enough sun, I’ll make it out to the mtns for a couple of day of pictures. These conditions make for the absolute best winter photos as long as the wind doesn’t get there before me to blow the snow from the trees. LOL
March 6th, 2012 at 8:42 am17.5 cm of snow in my yard which ended up being pretty close to YQF’s amount that was tallied in EC’s special wx statement. Highway 11 between Nordegg and Rocky looks like the winner with up to 40cm. Time to fill up on washer fluid!
March 6th, 2012 at 4:05 pmI’ve got a room booked in Jasper for Wednesday, tomorrow night. I am hoping that the icefields parkway is open before I head back home because I want to go back through Nordegg and with the warm temps being forecast for Thursday it isn’t going to look fresh for long.
March 6th, 2012 at 6:59 pmWe got 20-25 out here, it sure is white!
Wonder if we will see the big temps with albedo bouncing the rays back into space.
Dan I hope you have snowshoes or skis
March 6th, 2012 at 9:56 pmCould be some tough trudging once you get off the highway.
Good avalanche weather too.