Editing Alberta clipper (section)

{{Short description|Low pressure area weather system common to North America}}
{{Redirect|Alberta Clipper|the oil pipeline running from Alberta to Wisconsin|Alberta Clipper pipeline}}
[[Image:Clipper albertain.png|350px|thumb|right|Average trajectory of a clipper]]

An '''Alberta clipper''', also known as an '''Alberta low''', '''Alberta cyclone''', '''Alberta lee cyclone''', '''Canadian clipper''', or simply '''clipper''', is a fast-moving [[low-pressure system]] that originates in or near the [[Canadian province]] of [[Alberta]] just east of the [[Rocky Mountains]] and tracks east-southeastward across southern Canada and the northern [[United States]] to the [[North Atlantic Ocean]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Alberta_clipper |title=Alberta clipper |date= 26 January 2012|website= Glossary of Meteorology |publisher= American Meteorological Society  |access-date=2021-09-07 |quote= A low pressure system that is often fast-moving, has low moisture content, and originates in western Canada (in or near Alberta province). In the wintertime, it may be associated with a narrow but significant band of snowfall, and typically affects portions of the plains states, Midwest, and East Coast.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Alberta%20Clipper |title=Alberta Clipper |work=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=2021-09-07 |quote=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.}}</ref><ref name="cdnency">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Serralheiro-O'Neill |first=Benjamin |date=2021-06-17 |title=Alberta Clipper |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alberta-clipper |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |publisher=Historica Canada |access-date=2021-09-07 |quote=An Alberta Clipper is a type of low-pressure weather system that forms in Alberta or nearby, on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains.}}</ref>

Alberta clippers constitute a major winter-season  [[storm track]]  for  [[extratropical cyclones]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]], tracking across the continent in 2–3 days while affecting weather in parts of the [[Prairie Provinces|Prairies]] and [[Provinces and territories of Canada|central provinces]] of [[Canada]], as well as the [[Upper Midwest]], [[Great Lakes region (North America)|Great Lakes]], and [[New England]] portions of the United States. They are associated with cold, dry continental [[air masses]] and generate small-scale, short-lived weather events typically producing {{convert|8|–|15|cm|in|abbr=on}} of snow in a three to six hour period. However, they can precipitate sudden temperature drops and sharp winds leading to local [[blizzard]] conditions, especially when interacting with moisture from the Great Lakes.<ref name="Thomas">{{cite journal |last1= Thomas |first1= Blaine C.|last2= Martin |first2= Jonathan E. |date= 2007-04-01 |title= A Synoptic Climatology and Composite Analysis of the Alberta Clipper |journal= Weather and Forecasting  |volume= 22 |issue=2 |pages=315–333  |doi= 10.1175/WAF982.1|bibcode= 2007WtFor..22..315T|s2cid= 59456654|doi-access= free}}</ref><ref name="Thurlow">{{Cite web |url=http://www.weathernotebook.org/transcripts/2000/02/15.html |title=Alberta Clipper |publisher=The Weather Notebook |access-date=2007-04-16 |first=Dave |last=Thurlow |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318133657/http://www.weathernotebook.org/transcripts/2000/02/15.html |archive-date=18 March 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>