Record-breaking warmth continued for parts of southern Alberta on Friday, with many places posting highs common for June rather than February! The warm ridge of high pressure that has dominated the forecast for the south half of the province this week has even set new monthly temperature records in addition to daily ones. Areas like Lethbridge, Pincher Creek and Brooks experienced their warmest February temperatures since records began between Feb 4 and 5, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. However, the warmest February temperature for the entire province still belongs to Claresholm, Taber and Stavely, which all tied with a high of 24 C on Feb. 27, 1992! The unseasonably warm temperatures are largely due to a wide-ranging chinook that at some points on Friday had a continuous arch spanning from Hinton down to Browning, Mont., approximately 800 km north to south! Southern Alberta will remain under this ridge on Saturday, resulting in another day of highs in the mid-teens with some gusty westerly winds up to 80 km/h for regions in the extreme southwest. The jet stream propping up this ridge starts to lower and flatten out late Sunday, which will create the opportunity for some flurries to develop in Calgary during the evening and into Monday morning. For the Lethbridge area, models suggest a higher chance for snow showers on Monday morning, which could make for a messy commute on area highways. Precipitation totals look to be trace, however, with more sunshine and above-seasonal temperatures continuing into next week.
