An Alberta clipper, also known as a Canadian Clipper, is a fast moving low pressure area which generally affect the central provinces of Canada, as well as parts of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the United States. Most clippers occur in winter, but can occur outside of the season; generally, off-season clippers would occur in November. A large low-pressure system swirls off the southwestern coast of Iceland, illustrating the maxim that nature abhors a vacuum. ... Map of Canada As shown by the map to the left, the North American nation of Canada is a federation which consists of ten provinces that, together with three territories, make up the worlds second largest country in total area. ... The Upper Midwest is a region of the United States with no universally agreed-upon boundary, but it always lies within the US Census Bureaus definition of the Midwest and the states of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as at least the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ... The Great Lakes states are colored red in this map. ... Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. ...

Formation

Alberta clippers take their name from the Canadian province they appear to descend from, Alberta, Canada. However, the storms usually do not actually form in Alberta. Instead, they initially impact Canada via the Pacific Ocean. They lose a good deal of their moisture through the process of orographic lift as they come into contact with the mountains of the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The storms arrive over the Canadian plains with little moisture, and become entangled with the cold air mass almost always occupying that region at the time. They then slide southward as they get caught up in the flow around the high pressure system which always inhabits cold polar areas, sending them barreling into the United States. Motto: Fortis et liber (Latin: Strong and free) Official languages English (see below) Flower   Wild rose Tree Lodgepole Pine Bird Great Horned Owl Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 28 6 Area Total  - Land  - Water  (% of total... This wave cloud pattern formed off of the ÃŽle Amsterdam in the far southern Indian Ocean, due to orographic lift of an airmass by the island, producing alternating bands of condensed and invisible humidity downwind of the island as the moist air moves in vertical waves and the moisture successively... Lyskamm in the Pennine Alps (4,527 m) A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages English de facto (none stated in law) Flower Pacific dogwood Tree Western Redcedar Bird Stellers Jay Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seats  - Senate seats 36 6 Area...

Effects

The storms sweep in at high speed over whatever land they encounter, usually bringing with them sharp cold fronts and drastically lower temperatures. It is not uncommon for an Alberta clipper to cause temperatures to drop by 30°F (16°C) in as little as 10 to 12 hours. Often, the storms bring biting winds with them, only increasing the effect of the newly lower temperatures. Winds in advance and during an Alberta clipper are frequently as high as 35 to 45 mph (56 to 72 km/h). These conditions would cause wind chill values to drop into the -20 to -50 range. Wind chill is the apparent temperature felt on the exposed human (or animal) body due to the combination of air temperature and wind speed. ...

Snowfall amounts with these systems tend to be small (on the order of 1 to 3 inches), as the severe lack of moisture and quick movement inhibit substantial snowfall totals. However, several factors could combine to produce somewhat impressive snowfall totals (6 inches or more). These factors include access to more moisture (which raises precipitation amounts), slower system movement (which increases snowfall duration), and colder temperatures (which increases the snow to water ratio). The southern and eastern shores of the Great Lakes often receive enhanced snowfall from Alberta Clippers during the winter, due to lake enhancement. The lake effect snow can add substantially to the overall snowfall total. Lake-effect precipitation coming off the Great Lakes, as seen from NEXRAD Lake effect snow, which can be a type of snowsquall, is produced in the winter when cold dry winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the...

During the winter, Alberta clippers can occur somewhat frequently, with system intervals on the order of two to four days common during active periods.