I forgot to mention that Lethbridge is also the windiest city in Canada. In Vienna you get a wind warning when it blows more than 25 kmh - in Lethbridge it happens often to get 80 kmh at times. That is why you get these gigantic snow drifts while other areas are bare. It has to do with the nearby Rockies, which creates a strong turbulence, particularly in Spring (Chinook - in German it is a very strong Föhn). Yes, it warms things up (but Wikipedia generalizes), but it does not last long enough to melt snow, if the prior temperature was -30° - so it might get up to 0° for a bit, enough to pile up the snow (in our case) without really melting much. I remember having to get down on hands and knees a few times when a gust hit, and hold on to the running board. Fortunately it was not as strong of a wind anymore that day.
I forgot to mention that Lethbridge is also the windiest city in Canada. In Vienna you get a wind warning when it blows more than 25 kmh - in Lethbridge it happens often to get 80 kmh at times. That is why you get these gigantic snow drifts while other areas are bare. It has to do with the nearby Rockies, which creates a strong turbulence, particularly in Spring (Chinook - in German it is a very strong Föhn). Yes, it warms things up (but Wikipedia generalizes), but it does not last long enough to melt snow, if the prior temperature was -30° - so it might get up to 0° for a bit, enough to pile up the snow (in our case) without really melting much. I remember having to get down on hands and knees a few times when a gust hit, and hold on to the running board. Fortunately it was not as strong of a wind anymore that day.