Florida may have gotten the best of Alberta’s teams in the 2024 and 2004 Stanley Cup finals, but Saturday morning saw some redemption.
Much of Alberta woke up Saturday to temperatures nearly two-dozen degrees above normal for this time of year. It was so warm, in fact, that some towns saw temperatures higher than they witnessed down in the Sunshine State.
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A Pineapple Express event transported impressive moisture from Hawaii to southern B.C. on Friday, but it wasn’t all wet news.
The Coast Mountains and the Rockies did their job of sponging out most of the moisture from the subtropical airmass before delivering the resulting dry air to Alberta. Strong downsloping winds overnight drove temperatures well above seasonal—and above freezing.
Alberta Saturday departure from normal highs
Before most people awoke on Saturday, many towns were 20°C above normal.
Lethbridge was 11°C when the normal overnight low for this time of year is -11°C. Though not as extreme, the abnormal warmth extended far to the north. Fort McMurray held above the freezing mark—coming in 22 degrees above normal.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the early-week Arctic air that started on the Prairies took its last stand in the Deep South. Freezing temperatures were exceptionally anomalous in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.
Alberta Florida temperature reversal
A hard freeze dropped temperatures to -4°C in Myrtle Beach, with readings in minus territory reaching Florida, where Jacksonville dropped to -1°C.
Frigid air becomes increasingly rare as you head south from the Florida Panhandle. Though not as impressive as the anomalies in Alberta, the Tampa Bay area was still able to drop 5-10 degrees below normal.
With files from Dennis Mersereau, a digital writer for The Weather Network.
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