CALGARY -- The quick-notes on our standing forecast conditions for today and tomorrow: high pressure is here and deforming by the end of tomorrow, which means we’ll fall off somewhat from these above-seasonal temperatures and begin to range within a few degrees.

Seasonal normal for this time of year is around 18.7C.

Enjoy these next two days, and make the most of time outdoors while you can. Our air quality is about to plummet.

As that high pressure zone above us deforms and works its way south, an approaching trough is going to open a six-lane smoke highway from the historic U.S. west coast wildfires, straight into our backyard. Southwestern Alberta should begin to smell it Saturday evening, and by Sunday afternoon, the standing prognostication is that we could be into the thick of the haze.

Environment Canada, wildfire smoke, air quality, Environment Canada, wildfire smoke, air quality

This data above is from 00Z Sept. 11, (AKA 6pm Sept. 10)  - I’ll be posting the updated model from 6am today on Twitter. The first is 00-24 hours out from that 6pm start, and the second is 24-48 hours along. The prior edition from yesterday morning painted a much more innocuous picture of the change; what we see in the images above suggests an aggressive approach from wildfire smoke.

This means we will likely put our air quality rating into the 'high' range as a base point, which means sufferers and non-sufferers of cardiovascular issues alike should strongly consider the postponement of strenuous outdoor activity, and in some cases, outdoor activity in general.

Here’s the five-day forecast:

Today:

  • Sunny
  • Daytime high: 26C
  • Evening: clear, low 8C

Tomorrow:

  • Mostly sunny
  • Daytime high: 20C
  • Evening: some cloud, low 6C

Sunday:

  • Sunny, smoky
  • Daytime high: 19C
  • Evening: clear, low 10C

Monday:

  • Partly cloudy, smoky
  • Daytime high: 17C
  • Evening: clear, low 7C

Tuesday:

  • Partly cloudy, smoke potential
  • Daytime high: 20C
  • Evening: clear, low 6C

Yesterday’s sunset was absolutely breathtaking – thank you, Suzan, for sharing your photograph!

Calgary, sunset, September 10, 2020

You can submit your weather photos here.