Wind warnings issued as powerful gusts whip into Alberta
Downsloping winds set to blow into Alberta with the threat for gusts up to 100 km/h.
Wind warnings are in effect across parts of Alberta, with gusts up to 100 km/h forecast for communities right along the foothills for Thursday. While not as strong, conditions will still be quite gusty for larger cities like Calgary as well. Drivers are being warned to brace for the hazardous winds, especially along the southern half of the QE2. High winds may also toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break, which could result in localized power outages in some places. More on the wind timing and impacts, below.
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Through Thursday: Powerful winds blow across parts of Alberta, very cold weather to follow
Strong winds will pick up across Alberta through Thursday as a pattern change over western Canada has allowed the return of Pacific lows to stream back into British Columbia.
The conveyor belt of moisture into B.C.'s coast will lead to a pile up of precipitation, strung out over the Coastal and Rocky Mountain regions. As a result, strong downsloping winds have developed for the foothills of Alberta, remaining gusty and prompting warnings for some areas for Thursday.
Wind gusts of 80-100 km/h are forecast for communities right along the foothills.
"Transport travel along the southern half of the QE2 and parallel roads such as Highway 22 in the south should prepared for hazardous wind gusts," warns Kelly Sonnenburg, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
For larger cities like Calgary and surrounding areas, gusts between 50-70 km/h are more likely, but scattered southern areas as well as far northern Alberta could see wind gusts near 80+ km/h through Thursday afternoon and evening as a cold front sweeps across the province.
With the exception of some high elevation Rocky Mountain snow, not much precipitation is forecast across the province with this system. Some flurries and rain showers may creep further east into the foothill communities through Thursday and Friday morning though.
Wind gusts are forecast to ease during the pre-dawn hours on Friday.
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Forecasters are closely watching the increasing potential for a blast of very cold weather and Arctic air next week, with a rather chilly and wintry pattern set to take shape for the first week of November.
Be sure to check back for the latest forecast conditions across Alberta.