CALGARY -- A warm day in Calgary without some form of an asterisk is still not in the cards.
The high pressure ridge aloft is going to settle into zonal flow (a direct west-to-east motion) across the Rockies today, opening the south end of the province to strong westerly wind. Gusts in Calgary could top the 60 km/h range; that on top of temperatures in the low 20s (within four degrees of the record!).
This weekend we're looking at an upper trough driving in limited amounts of rainfall. First off, our quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) is showing exceptionally low rainfall amounts. Secondly, our dry air will entrain a lot of ground-bound moisture – it'll act like a giant, airy sponge, absorbing water on the way down.
That all said, there is only a chance of showers now through the weekend, though we may see heavier cloud at times, and perhaps even virga – wispy pockets of rain being evaporated before they reach terra firma.
Which, again, is rough, when you consider the per cent of precipitation is a lot lower than the average across much of the province. Take a look at yesterday's article for the charting from Agroclimate Canada.
Your five-day forecast:
Today:
- Mainly sunny, blustery! Gusts to 60 km/h
- Daytime high: 22 C
- Evening: mainly clear, low 7 C
Saturday:
- Partly cloudy, scattered afternoon shower potential
- Daytime high: 15 C
- Evening: ongoing showers, low 3 C
Sunday:
- Partly cloudy, chance of scattered showers
- Daytime high: 13 C
- Evening: mainly clear, low 1 C
Monday:
- Partly cloudy
- Daytime high: 17 C
- Evening: mainly cloudy, low 5 C
Tuesday:
- Much-needed showers!
- Daytime high: 11 C
- Evening: showers, low 1 C
Today's photos are from all over and quite diverse!
First, cloud streets, taken by Barb in Irma! As we say, cool air sinks (and warms as it sinks) and warm air rises (and cools as it rises). Imagine some giant, invisible cylinders rolling vertically across the landscape, parallel with the ground. The lifted condensation level (where moisture in air forms a cloud) is at a perfect level to create gaps in the cloud formation as these cylinders of fluctuating air roll along. Love it! Thanks for sending, Barb!
Second, Patrice’s great shot of some ducks at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
And then, Pam at Dead Horse Lake captured a lovely sunset for us, too.
You can submit your weather photos here, or email me: Kevin Stanfield , OR you can just tweet at me!
