CALGARY -- When we weigh the factors that warm us (sunlight, west wind) versus the factors that will be cooling us (extended evenings, northerly wind aloft), we can watch the scale tip over.

Cold air channeled from the far north (Beaufort Sea) will persist in the Prairies for at least a week.

A large Pacific low will bring Vancouver Island double-digit snowfall totals, at times, and locally we could end up with trace flurries as a result. The first chance for this rolls through Saturday evening, amounting to perhaps a centimetre's-worth of snow on the ground by Sunday morning.

Next up, a few off-and-on waves of light snow may whisk off the foothills through parts of Monday and Tuesday. "Scattered" is the perfect word for these bands, which also won't amount to much.

This is likely going to be a different kind of snow than we've seen so far – the snow-to-liquid ratio determines how dense snow is. Wet or "packing" snow has a high liquid content – think December's dumping (and try not to trigger phantom pain in your back from shoveling that driveway!), and dry or "powder" snow has a high content of ice crystals. It's substantially less dense, lighter, easier to blow around, and will be rife with pockets of air. There's a better chance we deal with this powder as we get underway with cooler temperatures next week, but as with the weekend, totals will be light.

Here's the five-day forecast:

Today:

  • Mainly sunny
  • Daytime high: -4 C
  • Evening: some cloud, low -14 C

Saturday:

  • Mostly cloudy, with afternoon flurries
  • Daytime high: -7 C
  • Evening: overnight flurries, low -15 C

Sunday:

  • Morning flurries, then partly cloudy
  • Daytime high: -11 C
  • Evening: overnight flurries, low -15 C

Monday:

  • Scattered flurries
  • Daytime high: -14 C
  • Evening: some cloud, low -18 C

Tuesday:

  • Scattered flurries
  • Daytime high: -11 C
  • Evening: overnight flurries, low -15 C

Let's kick the weekend off with some great images.

Joseph took this one in Medicine Hat:

Medicine Hat, sunrise, Joseph

And Todd also snapped a winner!

Southern Alberta, winter, Todd

You can submit your weather photos here, or email me here! Kevin Stanfield