Alberta Clipper

noun

variants or less commonly Alberta clipper

meteorology

: a fast-moving low-pressure weather system that develops east of the Rocky Mountains in western Canada during winter months and moves to the east-southeast across central Canada and into the northern U.S.

Note: An Alberta Clipper typically brings very cold temperatures, high winds, and light snowfall amounts.

Expect another Alberta Clipper to move through southeastern Wisconsin this afternoon and tonight with about 1 to 2 inches of snow and then flurries on Saturday.

—Brian Gotter

Examples of Alberta Clipper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The second system, an Alberta Clipper, will move through Minnesota on Saturday producing a mixed bag of precipitation over parts of the Midwest -- mainly in the form of rain and sleet. —Haley Brink and Tyler Mauldin, CNN, 27 Nov. 2021

Enbridge also wanted to increase the carrying capacity of its Alberta Clipper pipeline, a separate project, but did not want to go through the permitting process necessary to clear any new pipelines that cross the Canada-U.S. border. —Nick Martin, The New Republic, 25 June 2021

This Day in Weather History March 8th 2004: A vigorous Alberta Clipper brings an intense snow burst across the Twin Cities from 9:30 am to noon. —Star Tribune, 7 Mar. 2021

First, though, this evening, an Alberta Clipper producing a rain/snow mix will come from Canada, with potential to produce snowfall across all of Northeast Ohio. —Cameron Fields, cleveland, 21 Dec. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above