Calgary Weather: Cold, wet and windy – heavy, wet snow and up to 100mm of rain possible

An intense low pressure system at 986 mb over southern Saskatchewan will be the main weather maker for central and southern Alberta on Tuesday.

Moisture is drawn from the US Plains and Gulf and moves into central and southern Alberta as it rotates counterclockwise around this low, which acts as the southwest anchor of the Omega Block.

Cold arctic air aloft mixes with precipitation, limiting daytime highs well below seasonal levels over much of southern Alberta.

A cooler atmospheric profile throughout the day Tuesday and into Wednesday night will bring heavy wet snow to southern Alberta, especially in the southern foothills. Some snow may begin to accumulate during the day along Highway 2 south of Calgary and along the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary, but Wednesday's warm weather will make that a short-term concern.

Rainfall totals for this multi-day event could exceed 50 millimeters east of Highway 2 and Environment and Climate Change Canada's QEII Highway (ECCC) warns that some areas could see more than 100 millimeters or the equivalent of a month's worth of rainfall. . 36 hours.

Although the bulk of this rainfall is predicted to fall on areas in dire need of moisture, flooding and/or local inundation is likely as the subsoil cannot absorb as much moisture in a short period of time.

Winds will pick up throughout the day, forcing the ECCC to issue wind warnings to coincide with most precipitation warnings. In Calgary, winds are expected to reach 40 to 60 km/h earlier in the day and 50 to 80 km/h in the afternoon.

Rain will be mostly steady in Calgary on Tuesday as the city borders the western edge of this large system. Rainfall totals should be between 10 and 15 millimeters on Tuesday, with conditions starting to improve on Wednesday.

Daytime highs on Thursday will average over 15 degrees and reach 24 degrees on Friday.