CALGARY -- Today is spectacular, and wildly worth enjoying to the fullest extent you can! Get outside! Bring ice cream, or a popsicle! Open the windows! Let the fresh air in!

Technically, you can do all of these things tomorrow, but they likely won't be as enjoyable.

We're under a high pressure ridge today, but at our surface and upper layers in the atmosphere we'll experience an overnight transition to an arctic low, as that ridge finally breaks apart, replaced by a rapid-moving cold front that will pass through Alberta overnight tonight. This will result in heavy snowfall in the southwest of the province, as upslope flow is triggered along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. Heavier snowfall is possible in that region as a result.

Friday is a mixed bag, with very little opportunity for heat to develop and a chance of flurries under a good dose of cloud… but we should talk about the weekend.

It's early, yet. Days four and five in our forecast will involve additional moisture pushing in and temperatures to support more snow. Early indicators could involve a double-digit snowfall total as far off the foothills as Calgary, with 10-15 cm possible in Kananaskis. Snowfall warnings won't be shocking. Of note, though – this is far enough out that we can expect some fine-tuning as it closes in.

Just hold off on swapping the winter tires, all the same.

Your five-day:

Today:

  • Sunny
  • Daytime high: 18 C
  • Evening: showers, low -3 C

Thursday:

  • Flurries
  • Daytime high: -1 C
  • Evening: mainly cloudy, low -8 C

Friday:

  • Mainly cloudy
  • Daytime high: 3 C
  • Evening: some cloud, low -4 C

Saturday:

  • Snow! ~5 cm
  • Daytime high: 0 C
  • Evening: more snow, low -3 C

Sunday:

  • Snow! ~5 cm
  • Daytime high: 1 C
  • Evening: some cloud, low -3 C

What a photo series today!

Let's start with Paulo, who laments that he couldn’t send the full 100mb+ file of this Milky Way shot he captured in Dinosaur Provincial Park:

calgary, weather, kevin stanfield, april 21

…but that ties with this shot Brenda sent over of a hole punch cloud in Red Deer; these happen with supercooled water aloft evaporates around ice crystals, forming giant "holes" in clouds.

calgary, weather, kevin stanfield, april 21

…also, "R and J" sent along this photo of a Bobcat in MacEwan. That deserves a seat at the table!

calgary, weather, kevin stanfield, april 21

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