Choo choo!
Get ready, prairie sledders. There’s a snow train coming through! At least according to The 2021 Old Farmer’s Almanac Canadian Edition. Areas from Alberta eastward through Manitoba should brace for a virtually continual “Snow Train,” as the publications calls it, that will be carrying a series of winter storms throughout the season. The prairies are also expected to see above-normal temperatures. However, the Almanac is calling for below-normal winter temperatures through most of the country, which includes B.C.
Precipitation will be above normal throughout the country. Snowfall will be much greater than normal through most of the Prairies and close to normal elsewhere.
Here’s what the Almanac says about the two Western Canadian regional zones:
2020 long range forecast for Southern British Columbia
Winter will be colder than normal, with above-normal precipitation and below-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be in mid-December and early January, from late January into early February, and in mid- and late February, with the snowiest periods in late December, early to mid-January, and early February.
2020 long range forecast for the Prairies
Winter temperatures will be slightly higher than normal, on average, with above-normal precipitation. The coldest periods will occur in early January, mid-January through early February, and late February into early March. Snowfall will be below normal in the west and above normal elsewhere, with the snowiest periods in mid-November, mid-December, early January, early February, and from late March into early April.