Stormy start to the weekend but sun returns by Saturday

While Friday was sunny and warm throughout the day, a disruptive low-pressure system triggered a plethora of severe thunderstorm watches and warnings throughout Alberta for the overnight hours.

Calgary reached a high of 26 C for Friday, surpassing the seasonal high of 22 C for this time in August.

But the real big weather story for the city wasn't expected to happen until late Friday evening.

The low began to produce storms in Montana and Idaho Friday afternoon and continued to build in intensity and organization as it progressed north into Western Canada.

Environment and Climate Change Canada's severe storm outlook suggests the primary hazards for areas in the high-risk zone (in orange) could be hail stones two to four centimetres in diameter and strong winds exceeding 100 km/h.

While the worst of the storm was expected to pass over Calgary around 10:30 to 11 p.m., nocturnal thunderstorms could be persistent throughout southern Alberta into the early morning hours of Saturday.

Once this system has passed, the rest of the weekend is looking very sunny and seasonal for southern Alberta, with Calgary getting up to a high of 21 tomorrow with strong southwest winds at 40 to 60 km/h.

There is a slight chance Calgary could experience some overnight showers/non-severe thunderstorms overnight Saturday into Sunday.