Wildfire smoke – mainly from British Columbia – is funneling into central and southern Alberta and impacting air quality. There have been high levels of particulate from wildfire smoke and orange and yellow-level air quality warnings have been issued for most of central and southern B.C. and along the Alberta foothills. On Monday morning, the air quality health index rating was at a two (low risk) in Calgary and expected to reach a five (moderate risk) by the afternoon. This week will include cooler temperatures across central and southern Alberta due to zonal flow along the southern border of the prairies. Those lower temperatures combined with minor disturbances within the western flow may trigger active weather over the next few days. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible in central Alberta on Monday afternoon and evening, and could form as far south as Calgary. This pattern will continue over the next few days with pockets of heavier rain scattered over a larger area on Tuesday, and more persistent rain in the southwest corner of the province on Wednesday. It will likely remain mostly hot and dry in southern British Columbia until the middle of the week, with a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms. Given the current conditions, lightning and the associated stronger winds linked to potential instability is concerning. The daytime highs in Calgary will bottom out around 14 C on Thursday, before climbing back to seasonal values for the weekend. Overnight lows are expected to range from 8 C to 11 C compared to the normal low of 9 C.
