West winds help the west win with warmer weather this week

Calgary is settling into a warmer trend where daytime highs and overnight lows will exceed normal values by as much as 13 to 18 C.

The daytime high on Thursday was 8 C, or 11 degrees warmer than average.

Warm westerly winds helped evaporate some of the snow that melted during the day and areas with thick snow at the start of the day became quite slushy by the afternoon.

Early in the day, some sidewalks and roads were icy after nocturnal temperatures dropped.

This diurnal freeze-thaw cycle will be the weather story here for the next few days before overnight temperatures remain above freezing.

Strong zonal flow south of the polar vortex will keep colder air trapped in the north over the next few days.

A well-placed ridge of high pressure in the eastern Pacific is driving warmer air from west to east across central and southern Alberta and B.C.

By the end of the weekend, a stronger ridge of high pressure will migrate into southern Alberta from the Pacific northwest, boosting temperatures possibly into the low double digits.

At the same time, the tight gradient around the north pole is expected to weaken and colder air is expected to drift south into central and eastern Canada, driving temperatures down and creating potentially hazardous weather conditions with strong winds and mixed precipitation.

Folks in southern Alberta should stock up on windshield washer fluid and salt for their sidewalks, and it is probably wise to hold off on the expensive car washes for the next few days.