Temperatures to remain above freezing for most of the next 3 days

Strong westerly flow across Alberta will push temperatures well above seasonal for Tuesday and Wednesday, especially in the south.

In Calgary, the forecast high for both days is 9 C, which is 12 degrees warmer than average, but the overnight lows are even more remarkable.

Normally, this time of year the daily minimum temperature is -15 C, compared to the forecast lows for Tuesday and Wednesday which range from 0 C to 2 C.

The main weather maker is a ridge of high pressure originating in the Pacific basin. That same setup is the source of strong Santa Ana winds in southern California.

The pattern will start to break down on Thursday opening things up for Arctic air to start to flood south across the Prairies and eventually extend east to cover most of North America by the weekend.

Ahead of these frigid temperatures and dangerous wind chill values, snow is expected.

It will first enter Alberta Thursday from the northwest and track south and east over the next few days.

Portions of northern Alberta, central Saskatchewan, and central Manitoba could see upwards of 15 centimetres of snow.

Calgary will likely sit along the western edge of this low, so (at this point) there is only a chance of light and scattered snow by the end of the week.