Above-normal highs continuing through the weekend

Sun warming things up throughout Calgary Sun warming things up throughout Calgary. Gina Martin has a look at the five-day forecast from the Sky Watch Weather Centre.

If Calgary's five-day forecast was a rollercoaster, we would be at the part of the ride where you’re climbing up the tall ramp before the big drop.

A ridge of high pressure in the upper atmosphere has started to settle over Alberta and will remain in place for the rest of the week.

On Thursday, we will warm up to a high of 12 C in the afternoon – a degree above normal for this time of year – but clouds will start to thicken up around 4 p.m. Winds will also be fairly breezy today out of the south at 20 to 40 km/h.

Our temperatures will continue to climb and hit the mid-teens by Saturday and Sunday with mainly sunny conditions throughout the weekend.

It’s Monday when our rollercoaster ride rapidly heads downhill.

A trough of low pressure residing over the North Pacific will force its way into western Canada by mid-April, pushing our highs into the single digits and bringing rain, snow and wind in its wake.

Long-range models are conflicted on how this low-pressure system will move around after Monday, but there is agreement that cooler temperatures fueled by this low will likely continue through much of next week.