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<\/p>\nWhile many Albertans were hoping for warmer weather over the Easter long weekend, a late-season winter storm is instead expected to bring snow to parts of the province.<\/p>\n
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Snowfall will begin later Monday and continue through Wednesday, Environment and Climate Change Canada said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re expecting a couple shots of wet snow in the Edmonton area tonight and through Tuesday,\u201d Environment Canada meteorologist\u00a0Erin Staunton said Monday morning.<\/p>\n
A swath of the province north of Edmonton is forecast to be hit the hardest and snowfall warnings are in effect for areas in and around Peace River, Slave Lake, Athabasca, Lac La Biche, St. Paul and Cold Lake.<\/p>\n
Environment Canada said the system will spread west to east from Peace River towards Cold Lake Monday evening, with the heaviest snow Monday night into Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
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Snowfall amounts in that area will vary, but generally 15 cm is expected, except near the B.C. border where about 20 cm is forecasted. The snow will end Tuesday afternoon or evening.<\/p>\n
Temperatures are expected to hover near the freezing mark, meaning some of the snow could melt as it falls, especially in warmer urban areas.<\/p>\n
For some farmers, the timing of the spring snow is less than ideal \u2014 but not unwelcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take what we get, and you deal with the cards you\u2019re played,\u201d said\u00a0Ken Farion, who has been growing grain crops near Vegreville for 50 years.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tFarmer Ken Farion has been growing grain crops near Vegreville, Alta. for 50 years.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
He says snow later in the spring can be an inconvenience during seeding season.\u00a0However, recent snowfall combined with strong winds has also helped protect fields by preventing soil from blowing away.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis year we got a lot of snow \u2014 never a great amount at once, a lot of little snowfalls,\u201d said Farion, who grows wheat, canola and oats on about 4,000 acres.<\/p>\n
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Farion says the moisture situation is already an improvement compared to last year, when dry conditions persisted well into the growing season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably more than we need out in the field. But on the livestock side, a lot of the dugouts were dry last year. Guys had pasture with no water. This year, at least, all the water ponds should recharge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Farion said as long as they\u2019re in the fields by Mother\u2019s Day, they\u2019ll be happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re never early seeders, so for us there\u2019s plenty of time and there\u2019s lots could happen between now and then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tA snow-covered farmer\u2019s field near Vegreville, Alta. on Monday, April 6, 2026.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
While too much snow and rain is a problem that keeps fields too wet and prevents farming equipment from getting in to plow and seed, so too is the opposite.<\/p>\n
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Last spring, many parts of Alberta saw little precipitation until late June, creating difficult drought conditions for farmers trying to get crops established.<\/p>\n
While additional snowfall could briefly delay fieldwork, Farion says having moisture in the ground \u2014 especially heading into the warmer months \u2014 is critical for both crop growth and livestock operations.<\/p>\n
This winter was a bit of a tale of two provinces, Environment Canada said, when it came to how much snow areas received.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the Edmonton area and areas to the north, most of those regions did see above-average precipitation through the winter months \u2014 that\u2019s December, January, and February,\u201d Staunton said, adding Edmonton received about twice as much precipitation as average.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking further south, some parts of central and southern Alberta \u2014 that includes Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge areas\u2014 were below-average as far as that wintertime precip goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the mountain snowpack that feeds the irrigation system so many southern Alberta farmers rely on is deeper right now than in previous years.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLarge parts of Rocky Mountains near BC-Alberta border see above normal snowpacks\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Around the beginning of March, 32 mountain snowpack sites were surveyed by provincial scientists. Of the 31 mountain snowpack sites that have more than 20 years of historical records, 21 had snowpack conditions that were above-normal or much above normal.<\/p>\n
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