The next few weeks of it may not be the greatest example, but the Weather Network is predicting a warmer than normal autumn.
The Fall Outlook, which was released on Sept. 13, describes conditions in Central Alberta are going to be above seasonal, once averaged out over the next three months.
Erin Wenckstern, a meteorologist with the Weather Network, said it is hard to explain just what normal is for Alberta, as the weather patterns are so varied.
“It isn’t the greatest provinces to say what the seasonal norm is from day to. Sometimes you have snow as early as August and sometimes you have 20 C weather in November,” Wenckstern said in a recent phone interview.
According to Wenckstern, and the Fall Outlook, the month of September will look a little different from the rest of the season.
The next two weeks or so are expected to be cooler than normal, with nighttime lows reaching close to freezing.
What the regions is seeing now is a shift, with the warmer summer weather heading to the east.
“It certainly doesn’t feel like late summer right now, but we expect by October the weather will shift again,” Wenckstern said.
Much of the western part of the country will experience a cooler start to the season before the temperatures begin to heat up.
Wenckstern says meteorologists are tracking a storm system that is expected to hit Central Alberta mid to late next week.
The system is expected to bring colder, nearly freezing, temperature chilly winds and rain with a small chance of snow, with areas closer to the mountains more likely to see snow.
Wenckstern pointed out places like Kananaskis received snow this week, and that system in inching closer to the QEII Highway.
October will see a reversion back to warmer temperatures. These temperatures will largely be above normal for the season, though there will still be dips into the colder weather.
“Fall is a shifting season. Temperature drop somewhere between one and three degrees every week over the course of three months,” Wenckstern said.
It is difficult to say how much warmer the season will be at the end of November, but meteorologists are confident the average will be above normal.
The season is expected to produce “near normal” precipitation for most of Alberta.
“We aren’t saying it’ll be completely dry or a storms season, just fewer storms with just about normal precipitation,” Wenckstern said.
While the winter months are still pretty far off, meteorologist are already getting a feel for what may be in store.
In the fewest words; it’ll be cold.
“We are expecting a shift from last year, where the cold temperature will settle over the prairies, with the mountains getting a descent amount of snow,” Wenckstern said.
It is difficult to say what exactly what will happen in the winter, or the exact outlook for fall, these are guidelines meteorologists expect the weather to mostly follow.
Wenckstern suggests keeping an eye on the forecasts for the region.
“Weather is constantly changing. This is what we believe the season will look like, but it is always best to take a look outside and check the forecasts.”
