Warm and windy Tuesday as daytime highs reach mid to high 20s by Wednesday

Warm conditions continue, increasing fire risk. Jodi Hughes has a look at the five-day forecast from the Sky Watch Weather Centre.

A dominant ridge of high pressure situated over the west and edging into the territories has become the main weather-maker for Alberta and B.C.

Under that ridge stable conditions will prevail for the next couple of days, bringing above seasonal temperatures, minimal cloud cover and no risk of active weather (aside from the edges of that high).

In southern Alberta, strong southeasterly winds are expected to start late Tuesday morning with sustained speeds of 30 km/h in Calgary and gusts up to 50 km/h, with these winds continuing for most of the day.

Wednesday will bring even warmer temperatures in central and southern Alberta with daytime highs between 25 C to nearly 30 C in some communities.

There is concern about an amplified wildfire and/or grassfire risk with these types of conditions as the ground is often quite dry in early May and the transitions between weather patterns can be quite dramatic hosting strong frontal systems with intense wind and frequent convective activity (lightning).

As of Tuesday morning, the fire danger relative index across most of Alberta was rated as very high or extreme.

This index takes into consideration three key data points; how easy it would be for a wildfire to ignite vegetation, how difficult it would be to control a fire and potential damage from a wildfire.

This risk is likely to increase over the next few days with more heat expected and little to no rain forecast for central and southern Alberta.

In Calgary, rain is unlikely until early next week, with daytime highs ranging from 17 C to 25 C until then.