CLIPPER OR CHINOOK....How ALBERTA'S Most Famous Weather Phenomenon IMPACT CANADA

Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada

Alberta Clippers and chinooks are different, but often occur simultaneously.

From mild and melting to snowstorms to -10 C and really windy, the fluctuations seem to come out of nowhere. But in fact, this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink sort of prairie weather is often the result of the dreaded Alberta Clipper.

THE ALBERTA CLIPPER is another name for a storm. It's called that because of where it forms and how fast it moves.



These low-pressure systems, or storms, develop on the east side of the Rocky Mountains and they speed along like a clipper ship on the ocean. (Hence the name.) As they sail across the prairies, these systems can affect weather in Ontario and the eastern United States.



Alberta Clippers typically develop in the winter and can bring wild, rapid swings in the weather. What you see depends on where that low is positioned relative to you.



As the clipper develops in Alberta, we're in what is known as the warm sector and will often see balmy weather.



But when that cold front passes, things start to change.