Warm and windy Wednesday ahead of unusually cold weekend

Tuesday’s daytime high hit 10 C in Calgary, which is 12 degrees above seasonal, and Wednesday’s high will be close to that.

Tuesday marks the fifth day so far this January with a temperature of 10 C of higher, and the 19th day above 0 C.

According to the “climate normals” or the 30-year period of weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, the normal daytime high in Calgary January spans from -3 C to -2 C, with an average of 16.6 days warmer than 0 C, including an average of 2.5 days warmer than 10 C.

Calgary is on track to finish this month with 22 days above 0 C, but the start of February will be completely different.

A blocking pattern in the Pacific has held a strong high pressure system in place along the West Coast, keeping things warm and dry in southern Alberta.

That pattern will start to break down over the next couple of days and make room for an infusion of colder air.

Temperatures in Calgary will plummet, with Sunday’s low at least 35 degrees colder than Wednesday’s high.

Early Wednesday snow in and around the capital region prompted a snowfall warning with “total snowfall amounts near 10 centimetres expected.”

Over the next few days more snow is expected across the province, possibly including the city of Calgary.

Calgary has been fairly dry so far this month, with a total accumulation of 5.2 centimetres of snow as of Jan. 28, compared to the average amount of 16.6 centimetres of snow in January.

It will be windy in southern Alberta on Wednesday with sustained speeds of 20 to 30 km/h in Calgary and gusts up to 50 km/h.

Along the Pincher Creek to Lethbridge corridor, west winds could reach speeds of 70 to 90 km/h.