Snowfall warning ended for Edmonton as temperatures plummet

A snowfall warning has ended for Edmonton and the surrounding area but not before a healthy dump of snow blanketed the region Sunday and into Monday. 

As much as 30 centimetres of snow fell in Edmonton over an 18-hour period as temperatures dropped to –21 C, Alysa Pederson, meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said in an interview Monday.

Preliminary data from the weather bureau suggests it was the "largest winter storm for the season" for central Alberta. 

"The heaviest swath of snow fell along the Yellowhead corridor though the city of Edmonton," Environment Canada said on its website.  

Stony Plain and Sherwood Park received about 20 centimetres of snow as of 8 a.m. today, while 11 centimetres was recorded at Edmonton International Airport.

The forecast calls for a light dusting of snow this afternoon with temperatures expected to reach a high of –19 C today with the wind chill making it feel as cold as –26.

Winds out of the north will gut to 40 kilometres per hour, Environment Canada said.

Pederson said the last time Edmonton received a similar amount of snow in the same time period was in November 2020. 

"Our snowiest months of the year are March and April so this isn't likely to be the end of the snow for winter," Pederson said.

"It's not time to put away the snow shovels yet."

A citywide parking ban to assist in clearing major roads of snow will start at 7 p.m. Monday, the City of Edmonton said in a news release.

A snow route parking ban on all collector roads in Sherwood Park will go into effect Tuesday at 6 p.m., Strathcona County said. A parking ban applies to collector roads marked with permanent snow route signs.

The cold blast prompted the city to activate its extreme weather response on Friday. It will continue until March 1 based on the current forecast.

If weather conditions remain cold beyond this timeframe, the response will be extended, the city said in a release.