A few warm days for Calgary before the rain returns

Calgary will be sunny for the next few days before heavy rainfall over the weekend.

It finally felt more like summer in Calgary on Tuesday.

It was a clear start to the day which allowed the sunshine to warm us up to a high of 22 C.

There were some building clouds throughout the afternoon. That cover should lighten up throughout the evening hours resulting in a clear overnight and a low of 8 C.

A ridge of high pressure over Alberta will keep us consistently around seasonal temperatures for the rest of the work week, but instability will start to building from here on out.

There is a low risk of early evening thunderstorms for Calgary on Wednesday, but models suggest much storm activity will dissipate as the cells drift eastwards away from the foothills.

Our next significant weathermaker is a couple of low pressure systems hanging over the Gulf of Alaska.

One of those systems will start to track south along the West Coast tomorrow and then move inland along the Canada-U.S. border.

By Thursday, that low will bring clouds and the chance of some evening showers, but as it veers back upwards it will bring more substantial rain to southern Alberta over the weekend with the current forecast amounts of precipitation between 15 to 30 millimetres by Monday.

This will naturally drag down our temperatures, with highs over the weekend in the mid-teens.

What happens next week remains a bit of a mystery at the moment. Some models suggest the Alaskan low pressure system will move into western Canada next week and link up with the other low.

Other models at this point in time predict the lows will remain separate, but that could still mean more clouds and showers for Calgary as we approach the start of the Stampede on July 3.

Only time will tell on that front, but regardless, waterproof layers and umbrellas are here to stay for now.