Looks like we're in for a cold, snowy winter.

At least according to Meteorologist Michael Carter, at the Weather Network who say the Prairie's are going to see more cold and more snow than usual.

"We've got a pattern that really speaks to a lot of cold across the continent. You know we've got a lot of warm air out in the Gulf of Alaska. What that tends to do is keep B.C. and Alaska warm but then the cold kind of gets dumped on us right in the middle of the country. So, across the prairies and Ontario and Quebec a lot of cold air on tap in the upcoming season."

He says they use some pretty complex modelling to come up with these predictions.

"You know water temperatures in the Pacific, things like el Nino and the Gulf of Alaska pattern. We can look at air pressure patterns over the poles, that can tell us some things about the Jet Stream. And we also have the benefit of history right? We can go back and look at climatology, look at previous years with similar patterns and that can tell us some things about how the upcoming winter might play out as well."

He says the two coasts will see slightly milder winters than normal.

Carter says the nice thing about living in the Foothills is we get the occasional Chinook to break up the cold spells.

 

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