Intense wind returned to Alberta on Sunday, prompting wind warnings, complicating travel, and leaving a trail of debris. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, strong wind gusts were recorded over a large portion of the province yesterday with communities around the capital seeing gusts between 40 to 50 km/h, and areas like Edson and Grande Prairie recording peak wind speeds between 60 to 70 km/h. East of the Rockies the strongest reported wind gusts were in southeastern Alberta including Lathom (119 km/h), Rainier (116 km/h), Barnwell and Enchant (105 km/h), Del Bonita (104 km/h), and Bassano and Raymond (102 km/h). Major centres recorded wind speeds over 90 km/h including Lethbridge (96 km/h). Springbank also showed peak gusts of 96 km/h. Calgary (Canada Olympic Park), Medicine Hat, Red Deer (unofficially), Warner and Wrentham were listed as having gusts of 91 km/h. As expected rain and snow fell across portions of central and southern B.C. over the weekend, causing some higher-elevation highways to become icy at times. More rain is expected along the west coast on Monday – which is concerning due to a very saturated surface in some areas. Storms drains are also clogged in some communities because of the intense wind over the weekend and debris piling up. Monday’s forecast for Calgary will include a mix of sun and cloud with a sustained wind speed of 20 to 40 km/h. The high of 10 C on Monday will be one of the coolest daytime highs for the next week – despite sitting six to 12 degrees above average. The overnight temperatures in Calgary are expected to hold above freezing until the beginning of next week. This trend will be so warm that the overnight lows for part of this week will be warmer than the average high of 4 C. The normal low in Calgary this time of year is -8 C. The forecast for Remembrance Day looks warm across southern Alberta – but it will likely be breezy. And even with highs in the high teens in some communities, that wind could make it feel slightly cooler than the ambient temperature.
