After a prolonged period of unusually cold weather, a significant warm-up is on the way for the western portions of the country.
A low-riding polar vortex has been firmly planted over central Canada driving temperatures down and producing dangerously cold wind chill values.
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, widespread extreme cold warnings were in place for the eastern half of Alberta, all of Saskatchewan, and portions of Manitoba and Ontario.
In their warnings for southern Alberta Tuesday, Environment and Climate Change Canada explained, “Extremely cold wind chill values between -40 and -45 continue. Wind chill values will moderate somewhat during the day, but extreme cold is expected to return tonight for some regions.”
The agency also notes conditions will start to improve on Wednesday. In Calgary that means daytime highs will jump from -13 C on Wednesday up to 5 C on Thursday.
An incoming ridge of high pressure will move in from the eastern Pacific basin and help to reset the weather pattern while introducing warmer air into B.C. and Alberta.
Starting on Thursday, daytime highs will hover between 5 C and 9 C for at least a week, with overnight temperatures straddling the freezing mark.
