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It will be a cold, stormy winter in Saskatchewan

Nov 26, 2010 | 5:26 AM

Expect a colder, stormier winter this year in the province of Saskatchewan.

Chris Scott, a forecast operator manager with the Weather Network, said conditions this year will be much more typical of a prairie winter than last year’s mild season.

“We’re going to see our share of snow, as well as some cold spells, along with some warmth in-between,” said Scott.

Scott added, the weather may fluctuate more than usual this winter.

“One thing about this winter, though, is we do expect a lot of swings in the temperature. And we often see this with La Nina winters, and that’s what we’ve got this year, we’ve got a La Nina in the Pacific Ocean, and that means we get these real blasts of arctic air from time to time,” said Scott.

A la nina is when the sea surface temperature of the equatorial Pacific Ocean is lower than normal.

In the Prince Albert area, Scott said, the temperature throughout December and January will be around -12 C, and it’ll receive about one metre, or 39 inches, of snow throughout the winter.

“We’re not expecting here, any apocalyptic storms necessarily, but it doesn’t look like an easy winter. It looks like we’re going to see our fair share of snow,” said Scott.

Scott added that the south half of the province will be receiving the most snow, while the northern part of the province will be colder and drier.

rpilon@panow.com