Rain and snow likely on Saturday as Calgary prepares for the coolest weekend since April

Cold, with possible snow on the weekend. Jodi Hughes has a look at the five-day forecast from the Sky Watch Weather Centre.

Both the minimum and maximum temperatures this weekend will be cooler than average with many communities forecasting lows below freezing.

A cold front associated with a low pressure system will track north to south across Alberta overnight Friday, introducing instability and a noticeable cooldown.

Stronger winds, rain, mixed precipitation and snow will all be a part of the weather story on Saturday with as much as eight to 10 millimetres possible in Calgary.

As with all precipitation the atmospheric temperature profile will dictate the type of precipitation at the surface.

That means areas in higher elevations with cooler temperatures can expect more snow than rain, while on Saturday locations like Calgary are more likely to see rain gradually transition to mixed precipitation and then possibly snow as the temperature drops.

If Calgary does experience snow on Saturday, the warmer surface temperatures will cause most of that snow to melt on contact on roads, parking lots and sidewalks.

The timing of this system and rate and type of precipitation could result in some snow briefly adhering to vegetation like grass and trees, especially along the foothills.

This cooldown will be brief with daytime highs returning to 20 C by the middle of next week, however the Thanksgiving weekend could be similar to this one.