Cochranites should brush up on their winter driving skills but exactly how much winter we will see, remains a bit of a mystery.

Dan Kulak, Meteorologist with Environment Canada shares while the average Cochranite may not be happy, skiers may be rejoicing. "If you are looking for snow in early October your wish is maybe coming true here. It is a bit unusual to get big dumps of snow right now but September has been kind of an unusual month and October is starting out similarly cold with another weather system from BC pushing some moisture into Alberta with a lot of cold air around. We're going to get some snow in the southwest corner of the province over the next day and a half."

While some areas north of Cochrane could see anywhere between 15 to 20 centimetres, Kulak shares at this time they believe Cochrane could see around 10 centimetres but don't place any bets. "We are still a little uncertain as to the accumulation, these type of weather events at this time of year are really head scratchers. The ground can be kind of warm and the roadways can still be kind of warm so you never know what you are going to collect on the various surfaces, so it is difficult to measure how much falls as it melts when it hits the ground."

If you were hoping to ditch the winter gear, you may not like what Environment Canada has to say either. "We are just not seeing a warming trend here. The month of September has been fairly cool, October is starting off that same way. The average for Cochrane and area daytime highs are probably around 14 or 15 right now, they do drop significantly through the month, but that doesn't really matter when you look out the window and it's snowing outside."

The warmest daytime high over the next five day period is only anticipated to reach 9 degrees. 

"We are just going to see how the system evolves. The bottom line is we've got some weather, some snow, in the southwest part of the province for the next day and a half."

With a special weather statement in effect and adverse weather conditions on the way, you are encouraged to check out real-time road conditions HERE and anticipate poor driving conditions this evening (October 1) into tomorrow on highways west of Calgary including the Trans Canada.

The five-day forecast is as follows:

  • Today

    Periods of snow. Local amount 2 to 4 cm. Wind becoming northeast 20 km/h this afternoon. High plus 1. Wind chill minus 4 in the morning. UV index 1 or low.

  • Tonight

    Snow. Amount 5 to 10 cm. Wind northeast 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low minus 3. Wind chill near minus 5.

  • Tuesday

    Snow. Amount 5 to 10 cm. Wind becoming east 20 km/h in the afternoon. High zero. Wind chill minus 5 in the morning. UV index 1 or low.

  • Tuesday night

    Periods of snow. Low minus 6.

  • Wednesday

    Sunny. High plus 4.

  • Wednesday night

    Clear. Low minus 8.

  • Thursday

    Sunny. High 9.

  • Thursday night

    Clear. Low minus 7.

  • Friday

    Sunny. High plus 5.

  • Friday night

    Cloudy periods. Low minus 3.