Extreme cold warning still in place for Calgary

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Hold bundling up – the chilly snap is nearly over.

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An excessive chilly warning remained in place for Calgary on Friday morning, though temperatures are anticipated to rise as excessive as 0 C on Saturday. Late Friday morning noticed a excessive of -22 C, with a wind chill of -29.

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A lightweight snow began falling within the morning and is anticipated to finish within the afternoon because it warms to a excessive of -21 C. The in a single day low is forecast to be -22 C with a wind chill of -30.

The danger of frostbite stays excessive and the acute chilly stays harmful when wind chill values ​​close to -40 to -50, in accordance with Atmosphere and Local weather Change Canada,

Nearly your entire province was nonetheless beneath an excessive chilly warning on Friday morning, with solely the westernmost areas free from climate warnings.

Atmosphere Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor mentioned it will not be a chinook that brings hotter temperatures this weekend, however reasonably unsettled climate from the Pacific transferring over the mountains.

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“It should be an actual mess coming over BC, and it’ll be messy over components of Alberta as that heat air manages to lastly push that (chilly) air out,” he mentioned.

Whereas the Christmas Day forecast appears good for Calgary with solar and a excessive of two C, Proctor mentioned individuals needs to be cautious in the event that they drive on Christmas Day or Boxing Day – which might see a excessive of seven C.

“It should be slightly troublesome from a journey standpoint, particularly for individuals going east of Calgary and north of Calgary as much as Purple Deer and as much as Edmonton, who’re slightly extra more likely to see the precipitation.”

Proctor mentioned that the climate, whereas hotter, won’t be favorable. He mentioned individuals within the west might see some freezing rain because it warms. He additionally expects gusty winds.

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“It should be a clipper, greater than something, so it’ll be a reasonably fast-moving system because it sort of ripples east-southeastward, alongside the southern portion of Alberta into southern Saskatchewan.”

The intense chilly in Alberta and winter climate warnings throughout the nation have precipitated mass flight cancellations and delays.

After canceling lots of of flights this week, WestJet canceled one other 300 on Friday and issued proactive cancellation packages for the Vancouver area, Vancouver Island, southern Ontario and Quebec on Thursday night time.

WestJet mentioned in an announcement early Friday morning that 15 cancellations had already been made for Saturday.

Air Canada mentioned on-line Friday morning that it’s implementing a “goodwill coverage” that permits prospects to cancel their Dec. 22 to 26 flights on-line and obtain a full refund or voucher for tickets bought on or earlier than Dec. 21.

“Prospects ought to use the net instruments to get their refund, voucher or rebook,” Air Canada mentioned. “Please solely go to the airport if in case you have a confirmed flight and the flight standing exhibits it’s working.”

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In an announcement, the Calgary Airport Authority mentioned it expects additional climate results on journey at YYC Worldwide Airport over the approaching days.

It advisable that passengers verify with airways earlier than coming to the airport to remain knowledgeable of delays and cancellations.

“We all know it has been a troublesome few days of journey delays for a lot of and we thanks to your persistence,” the airport authority mentioned.

— With recordsdata from Brodie Thomas and Jason Herring

sbabych@postmedia.com