Despite similar morning temperatures, Wednesday started out with much better weather conditions than Tuesday, with dry roads reported across most of Calgary.

Precipitation from earlier this week still has lingering effects in southern Alberta, but Wednesday’s sunshine and warmer temperatures will take care of that by midday.

A changing weather pattern will introduce a persistent westerly flow into southern Alberta over the next few days, increasing daytime highs and nighttime lows.

In Calgary, the wind is expected to shift from southwest to west on Wednesday with Chinook-like conditions across the region.

In southwestern Alberta, wind gusts are expected to reach 40 to 70 km/h, which is well below the threshold for a wind warning to be issued for that region.

A strong ridge of high pressure will settle over the western provinces for the end of the week – extending to the northern territories.

Wednesday’s high of 9°C in Calgary will be the coldest day of the next three, despite an overnight temperature as warm as the average daytime temperature for this time of year.

Most communities in southern Alberta will experience a similar trend with temperatures increasing through Friday.

By the end of the week, Calgary is expected to reach a maximum temperature of 15°C, three times warmer than the average temperature of 5°C.

This ridge will begin to disintegrate on Sunday and temperatures are expected to drop below seasonable for early next week.