Warm start to the weekend ahead of a cooldown next week

Mild conditions remained over much of southern Alberta early Friday.

As of 5 a.m., the temperature at the Calgary airport was 3 C, compared to a typical overnight low of -13 C. The daytime high is not expected to be significantly warmer than that, however, 3 C is still warmer than the average high of -1 C.

Cooler air cutting that settled over the southeast corner of the province contributed to fog development overnight as warmer air was blocked from edging in from the west.

Without any significant wind at the surface, mixing was limited and the saturated air (fog) from overnight evaporative processes remained close to the surface.

There will be little consistency in temperatures over the next seven days with abrupt increases and decreases expected for the City of Calgary.

Tuesday’s high will sit closer to a typical overnight low, with a 16 degree rise in daytime highs between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Clear conditions across most of southern Alberta Friday night would normally offer good viewing conditions for the Geminid meteor shower peak viewing window, but this will be offset by a nearly full moon.

The weekend will bring increasing cloud cover to southern Alberta as cooler air starts to track south from the north pole.

By early next week, there will be zonal flow across the southern border starting in B.C. and extending to Central Canada, resulting in temperatures that are likely to be remain well below freezing in many areas.

Stronger winds will likely accompany these swings in temperature, but precipitation is unlikely.