It will be a warm afternoon for Calgary, but with some caveats. Today the city will hit a forecast high of 22 C, seven degrees above seasonal (15 C), but it comes with a mainly cloudy sky and strong winds from the southwest at 30-50 km/h. The heat fuelled by warm winds is the last vestige of a broad ridge of high pressure over the western Prairies with regions in the extreme south like Lethbridge and Medicine Hat seeing August-like temperatures. But come Saturday, all of southern Alberta is in for a steep drop in temperature values as a moisture-laden trough of low-pressure digs into the province. Areas in the East Kootenays are already dealing with this trough with scattered showers in Fernie and Golden expected throughout the afternoon; however, the Rockies will block much of the precipitation from making its way to Calgary, at least for today. Saturday carries a higher chance of afternoon showers for the city as the trough moves over Alberta. If you have outdoor plans tomorrow, make sure to bring some waterproof layers with you as the high is slated to be a meagre 11 C for Calgary. While this trough will be noticeable, it also will be brief, and we will start to rally on both the condition and temperature front by Sunday. Long-range models seem to agree that Calgary will see a decent stretch of sun/cloud conditions and seasonal highs in the mid-teens for the rest of the month.
