Just after 5:00 am Monday, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for Red Deer, Lacombe, Ponoka, Innisfail and Stettler areas.

An abrupt change to the weather is on the way for Southern Alberta later today.

After a stretch of above average spring temperatures, a cold front will move through this afternoon and evening reaching the American border tonight. This front will usher in a cooler airmass along with rain and snow.

For the latest Central Alberta weather forecast click here.

Precipitation will start as rain before changing to snow. The transition from rain to snow will begin this evening north of the Calgary area, and overnight near Calgary. Regions closer to the Saskatchewan and American borders will see rain for a longer duration before eventually switching to snow on Tuesday. With temperatures hovering just above zero degrees Celsius, precipitation type as well as snowfall accumulations will vary greatly.

There is a snowfall warning for the Nordegg area with 10-20 cm of snow expected.

There remains uncertainty as to how much snowfall will accumulate, though amounts of 5 to 10 cm are possible by Wednesday morning in some locations. Calm and cooler conditions are forecast on Wednesday, and for the remainder of the week.