More melting Wednesday with warm and windy conditions

More warmth and melting in Calgary. Jodi Hughes has a look at the five-day forecast from the Sky Watch Weather Centre.

Many major routes in Calgary were either dry or showed evidence of melting by Tuesday afternoon after a return to seasonal temperatures and a good amount of sunshine throughout the day.

More melting will occur across southern Alberta on Wednesday as a ridge of high pressure and stronger westerly flow combine to boost temperatures and enhance evaporation.

West wind will dominate across the region midweek with sustained wind speeds of 20 to 40 km/h forecast for Calgary.

The southwest portion of the province will see sustained wind speeds closer to 80 or 90 km/h both Wednesday and Thursday.

A rapid cooldown is expected across the province on Thursday.

In Calgary, the daytime high will peak at 9 C before a quick return to winter weather.

A large polar air mass covering most of Northern Canada will sink into the northern edges of the Prairie provinces by the end of the week, including Alberta.

Strong north winds will initiate a quick drop in temperatures at the same time snow blankets most of the province. Snow is expected in central Alberta Thursday afternoon before tracking into southern Alberta by the evening.

That combination will likely compromise visibility and complicate the Friday morning commute as some areas could see periods of intense snowfall.

Snow will persist for most of the day Friday, especially along the foothills.

Calgary will likely see a total accumulation of 10 to 15 centimetres with areas to the west forecast to receive even more.

Temperatures will remain below seasonal until the end of the weekend. Saturday’s high in Calgary will be closer to the average low of -11 C.

Any snow that does fall at the end of this week will start to melt by early next week with daytime highs ranging from 4 C to 6 C for at least six days.