‘Alberta Clipper’ ushered in latest snowstorm

The winter weather system that moved through the Great Plains late last week into this weekend brought snowy conditions to much of the Midwest.

The northern, central and even eastern parts of Missouri experienced some mild to hazardous impacts from the system. The low pressure system associated with this week’s winter storm actually was a little different than the typical low pressure systems that push through our state.

For starters, recent forecasts by the Climate Prediction Center, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suggests global weather trends may be setting us up to see more winter weather as the season progresses.

The nickname for this storm was what we meteorologists call an “Alberta Clipper.” This fancy name, referencing Alberta, Canada, describes when a low pressure system drags colder air south from Canada across portions of the United States.

Typically, Alberta Clippers are seen in the Great Plains, Great Lakes region or Midwest. More often than not, these storm systems will bring colder temperatures and strong winds. You may have noticed there was a decent cooldown as the system pushed through your area as this particular Alberta Clipper pushed through.

Obviously, snow chances largely depend on moisture content in the atmosphere, but it is not uncommon to see at least some light snow with Alberta Clipper systems. Sometimes, these same systems can be coined “Saskatchewan Screamers.” If you hear either of those terms on your local television station, just know they are interchangable.

Our local weather is influenced by global weather patterns. One such pattern in the El Niño Southern Oscillation which cycles every five to seven years. The particular portion of this cycle we are experiencing now is La Niña.

La Niña portions of the Southern Oscillation are associated with cooler water welling up off the western coasts of the Americas. In La Niña patterns, the jet stream is pushed northward which allows for local weather systems like what we experienced this week to impact Missouri. As the jet stream moves across the United States in a pattern that resembles a wave rising and falling, it can drag colder, arctic air further south. Usually, cooler and wetter winters in the northern United States and mild, drier winters are seen in the southern United States during a La Niña pattern.

The Climate Prediction Center suggests in its latest outlook that this La Niña pattern will persist off the United States West Coast through at least March until possibly as late as May. Because of this, we could be in the running for more wintry weather through the spring.

Maddie Est has worked as a broadcast meteorologist and marine meteorologist since graduating from the University of Missouri in 2021. She has worked with the Missouri Climate Center and conducted research on atmospheric blocking while at MU.