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From wildfires in Northern Alberta to snow in Jasper, here is a wrap up of the wild weather over the past month as July approaches.
Published Jun 25, 2023 • 2 minute read
People and pets should be cautious around the North Saskatchewan River for the next few days, the city said on Thursday, June 16, 2022, as water levels are expected to rise. Photo by Greg Southam /Postmedia
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It has been nothing short of a series of wild weather events over the past month, from wildfires in northern Alberta to snow in Jasper just days shy of summer.
Residents in swaths of northern and central parts of the province affected by wildfires were suddenly forced to shift their focus to the threats of flash flooding.
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Here are five weather events that took the month by storm.
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Snow in Jasper … in June?
Jasper National Park was hit with a freak snowstorm in the middle of June, with the early area forecast of 25 cm of snow.
On June 19, Environment Canada put out two highway alerts for the Banff and Jasper areas. Parks Canada reported heavy wet snow and fallen trees on roadways. Surrounding areas also received reports of hail along with strong winds.
Up to 55 centimetres of snow had fallen in parts of Jasper National Park by June 20. The snow shut down some roads and led to the rescue of some visitors. Parks Canada said rescues included hikers on the Skyline Trail, paddlers on Maligne Lake and two stranded tour buses full of passengers on Maligne Road.
Edmonton heat dome
In early June, a heat dome settled over the province prompting widespread weather warnings. Temperatures in the Edmonton area soared, with highs of 27 C to 31 C degrees. Edmonton reached a record high of 31.9 C on June 13.
Embattled wildfires
The province’s wildfire season started earlier this year and, by early June, multiple northern Alberta and Edmonton-area communities were under evacuation orders.
Yellowhead County and the Town of Edson, approximately 215 km west of Edmonton, issued a nearly week-long evacuation order June 9.
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Alberta Wildfire estimates 1,400,021 hectares have burned during the 2023 wildfire season, beating the previous record of 1,357,000 hectares burned in 1981.
Heavy rainfall
After severe rainfall the City of Edmonton sent a public service announcement this week warning people to “exercise extreme caution around the North Saskatchewan River and its tributaries.”
Edmontonians are asked to stay out of the river and away from low-lying areas.
Flash forward to flooding
In northern Alberta following a week of embattled wildfires that had consumed Yellowhead County, the Town of Edson issued a state of local emergency after severe rainfall caused serious flooding in the area.
The rainfall had been welcomed by officials, which they said would offer significant reprieve to the fires, but it took a turn when Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a severe rainfall warning for northern Alberta.
The hamlet of Peers in Yellowhead County issued a shelter-in-place due to the severe rainfall which had compromised the Peers Bridge.
The town of Whitecourt located 180 km northwest of Edmonton declared a flood watch for the McLeod River and Athabasca River at Whitecourt due to the severe rainfall.
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