Balmy no more: This week's cold snap will shock Alberta with a big chill

The Prairies Climate Change Project is a joint initiative between CBC Edmonton and CBC Saskatchewan that focuses on weather and our changing climate. Meteorologist Christy Climenhaga brings her expert voice to the conversation to help explain weather phenomena and climate change and how they impact everyday life.

Let's face it, this fall has been pretty easy on us. 

On the Prairies, November did bring a sharp snap of cooler weather, but otherwise, balmy, above seasonal temperatures have dominated the forecast.

But this week, that is swiftly coming to an end. A push of Arctic air is moving into Western Canada, driving temperatures well below what is normal for this time of year.

Monday will bring temperatures in the minus double digits, a shock to the system for Albertans after a relatively balmy fall. The cold will build from there. By Wednesday, most of Alberta will be in the –20s.

To put that in perspective, we should be seeing daily highs between 0 C and minus 3 C at this time of year. 

And it looks like the cold snap will stick around and expand, with cooler than normal temperatures almost nationwide into the start of December.

Kyle Fougère, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says this cold air is coming in behind a low pressure system.

"We're going to have winds coming from the north on the backside of the low that's going to drag in some Arctic air from the north across the province."

That low pressure system system will clear the region by Tuesday, bringing some snow to start the week, but the temperatures will continue to plummet. 

"There's definitely a possibility that as the system moves through, we could see temperatures in the minus 30s by the end of the week," says Fougère.

Cold snaps at this time of the year are hardly out of the ordinary for Alberta, but this one will really stretch both in length and scope. By the start of December, much of Canada and parts of the United States will be on the cooler side.

"A lot of times when you do have this cold air that comes down from the North, it can stick around for quite a while," says Fougère.

"The cold air is very dense and so you know, once it gets pushed into the province, a lot of times it takes a very significant system to then displace that cold air."