Warm start to the week with double digit daytime highs by the weekend

Daytime highs in Calgary this weekend ranged from 8 C to 10 C – which is five to eight-degrees above seasonal.

This pattern will persist in southern Alberta which is assisting with the melting of snow.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, heading in to the weekend there was 16 centimetres of snow on the ground in Calgary (at YYC International).

The “snow on ground” measurement as of Sunday night was five centimetres.

As expected, pooling is occurring around the city, and some surfaces continue to ice up overnight as melted snow re-freezes under sub-zero temperatures.

Conditions west of Calgary also improved over the weekend, prompting Avalanche Canada to drop a Special Public Avalanche Warning (SPAW) for K-Country, as well as Kootenay, Yoho, and Banff National Parks.

Weak layers are still present in the snow pack, with most regions rated as a “considerable risk” by the agency, but the threat of human and/or natural-triggered slides has lessened.

The main theme of this weeks’ weather story will be recovery, as snow melts and both daytime highs and overnight lows remain consistently above seasonal.

An incoming, strong ridge of high pressure will pull warmer, Pacific air into southern British Columbia and Alberta by the end of the week, and drive daytime highs in Calgary to around 13 C by Sunday, (which is about 10 degrees warmer than average).