Editor’s Note: The wind warning issued for Calgary ended just before 5 a.m. on Monday.
Early Sunday afternoon, Calgarians can expect winds to pick up from the south at 20 to 30 kilometres per hour. Environment Canada said starting late Sunday evening into Monday morning, a westerly breeze was expected to reach 60 km/h, “with gusts as strong as 100 km/h in the wake of the front.”
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., Environment Canada issued a wind warning for Calgary. Several areas south of the city had already been under a warning.
The weather agency warned the powerful winds could cause damage to buildings and could also result in deteriorating driving conditions.
Environment Canada issued a wind warning early Sunday morning for Cardston, Fort Macleod, Magrath, Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek and Waterton Lakes National Park. The weather agency said strong west winds – 70 km/h gusting to 100 km/h – would develop early Sunday afternoon and continue throughout the day.
The winds were expected to lighten up by Sunday evening. As of 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Waterton reported peak winds of 89 km/h, while Pincher Creek had gusts of 63 km/h.
Along with breezy conditions, some areas of southern Alberta were reporting very warm temperatures. At noon, Lethbridge had reached 15 C and Claresholm was not only Alberta’s hot spot, it was the hot spot across Canada at 17.4 C.
In Calgary, temperatures were expected to reach 12 C.
Above seasonal temperatures were expected over the next three day in Calgary. Sunday morning in Alberta’s most populous city started with sunshine but Calgarians then saw increasing cloudiness. More cloudiness was expected to the west of the city.
At noon, Banff’s temperature was sitting at 3 C, and that temperature was expected to climb a few more degrees Sunday afternoon, before some showers and flurries were expected in that area on Sunday night.
Rain was expected to begin falling Sunday afternoon in Banff and change to flurries in the evening. Banff and Canmore were expecting five to six centimetres of snow by Monday morning.
While the mountains were expected to get a bit of the white stuff Sunday night, central and northern Alberta was dealing with wintry conditions.