Another blast of snow takes aim at Alberta. Will winter make up for lost time?

Forecast Centre

Wed, March 12, 2025 at 9:12 a.m. GMT+9·3 min read

Winter weather has lacked for the most part across the Prairies this year, but Arctic air and snowy conditions will now attempt to make up for lost time in Alberta. That will replace the recent spring-like weather, with rounds of snow and colder-than-seasonal temperatures lasting into early next week.

You'd have to go back to November for some of the snowiest days of the season so far, with Edmonton airport only reporting one other day with more than 10 cm of snow in January.

Baron - Edmonton snowiest days 2025 winter - Mar11

Could Thursday be the third time for a decent swath of snow this season? The forecast is a tricky one, but one that you'll want to plan ahead for. Beware of slick roads and potential travel delays as the mid-week system moves through.

Wednesday through Friday: Snow develops across central Alberta, and highway travel likely to be impact

A low-pressure system will develop in Alberta on Thursday, bringing snow to the foothills and central Alberta from Wednesday night through early Friday morning.

Baron - Alberta precipitation Thursday afternoon - Mar11

Snow will start quite light in Alberta's Elbow region Wednesday morning, with the intensity picking up Wednesday evening as it moves towards Edmonton.

As the main low develops on Thursday morning, the swath of heaviest snow will align from northwest of Calgary through to Cold Lake -- putting Edmonton on the northern edge of the heaviest snow, and also making for a very tricky forecast.

Baron - Alberta precipitation Thursday evening - Mar11

The QE2 will see snow through the day on Thursday, from Red Deer to Edmonton, with difficult travel expected for much of the day.

Currently, around 15 cm of snow is possible for Edmonton, with 5-10 cm for Red Deer, and closer to 3 cm for Calgary, which will fall through the latter half of the day. The ultimate track of the system could alter overall amounts, especially if the band of snow on Thursday pushes south and east of Edmonton. That would lower totals for the region, while also increasing amounts for Red Deer and Lloydminster.

Baron - Alberta snow outlook - Mar11

The greatest snowfall amounts with this system will be northeast of Edmonton, and towards Cold Lake, before the snow eases through Friday morning.

Snow totals majorly lacking this winter

Alberta as a whole did not see much snow this winter. Edmonton airport saw just over 80 per cent of normal snowfall for the season. So far, the snowiest month was back in November when 24.9 cm fell in the Edmonton area. The snowiest day so far this snow season was 12.8 cm on November 23, 2024, with the second being 10.6 cm from January 30, 2025.

Calgary has seen even less snow, with just 26 cm reported from December to February. In November alone, 40 cm fell in Calgary!

March is Calgary's snowiest month on average, though it'll be hard to beat out that impressive November total at this point. March is typically the second snowiest month of the season at the Edmonton airport, just behind the month of January.

Stay with The Weather Network the latest on conditions across Alberta.