Summer snow, a harbinger of things to come?

Early winter weather covered the city in a dusting of white on Tuesday and cast a pall over the final days of summer for sun-loving Edmontonians.

The unexpected snow was met with much grumbling on social media, with some Edmontonians declaring it the official death of summer.

• Nooo! Edmonton gets first snowfall of season

Thenear-record heat inlate August made the transition towintry weather all the more difficult, but snow in September should not come as asurprise, says David Phillips, a senior climatologist for Environment Canada.

'Kind of like a dress rehearsal'

"It didn't have any lasting power. It was almost like a sneak attack," Phillips said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

"When you look in September, it's not a surprise. It shouldn't be a shock to veteran Edmontonians.

As a cold miserable rain turned into snow, the Edmonton Blatchford weather stationrecorded more 4.8 millimetres of precipitation on Tuesday, according to the latest report from Environment Canada.

At the Edmonton International Airport, 4.8 centimetres of snow fell throughout the day, breaking a daily snowfall record of 1.3 centimetres set in 1972.

A large disturbance in the upper and lower jet stream over Alberta Wednesday drewmoisture from B.C. and the Pacific Coast, Phillips said.

When that moisture collided with a pocket of cold Arctic air, it created the perfect conditions for a cold, wet snow, hesaid.

Obituary on summer?

Snow in September doesn't necessarily mean we're in for a brutal season, he said.

Fall is expected to be milder than average and winter is forecast to be only slighter colder than last year, with "about the same" amount of snow.

"I don't think you should write the obituary to summer quite yet, but maybe you should think about putting the lawn furniture away and find out where your snow shovel is," Phillips said.

"Don't think, 'Oh my gosh, now we're in for the long, hoary season.' You can't read too much into this one single day dusting of snow."