The days of dry roads and brown grass are behind us for a little while as Mother Nature brings us a White Christmas.

A snowfall warning is in effect for the Cochrane area and with it comes a dose of cold blustery air just in time for holidays to begin.

Alysa Pederson, a Decision Support Meteorologist with Environment Canada, says get ready for some fairly seasonal weather once we get past today's (December 19) snowfall. "We have a pretty moisture filled low-pressure system coming in going south of the border through Washington and Montana and that's going to bring a lot of moisture across the mountains and into southern Alberta. We are going to be getting 10 to 20 centimetres of snow for the Calgary area with much higher amounts the further west and into the eastern parts of the mountains."

The snow will push in from the south this morning and is expected to continue until tomorrow afternoon (December 20) when the skies begin to clear. "With that clearing comes cooling, so our temperatures are going to be going down to more seasonal temperatures for this time of year."

With temps falling behind the system, Pedersen shares those wishing for a White Christmas may be in some luck. The long-range forecast, Boxing Day to early January shows temperatures sitting below normal. "There's a 70 to 90% confidence that we are looking at minus eight to minus ten for the week after Christmas, which is a little bit below normal. Our normal average high is around minus two this time of year in Calgary."

While the snow may be a welcome sight, it could make for some tumultuous road conditions and drivers are reminded to take it easy.