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Unseasonably warm weather could push Airdrie and Calgary past a nearly decade-old temperature record Saturday.
"There is the chance that Calgary and Airdrie could break the record of 27.6 set in 2016," said Heather Pimiskern, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
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Forecast highs near 26 C are nearly double the seasonal norm, but Saturday is the one to watch.
"Today we’re looking at temperatures in around 25, 26 degrees," Pimiskern said. "We would have to beat that temperature in order to set the record."
Thursday hit around 20 C — far below the May 1 record of 25.8 set in 2023. Friday’s expected high near 26 C won’t likely break the 1924 mark of 27.8.
The early May heat follows a spring that ended April slightly above average, despite stretches of cool weather.
"It looks like Calgary was around normal for this time of the year," Pimiskern said. "There was a slight departure … we were a little above normal for what we normally experience in the month of April. But I would not say that it was the warmest April that we’ve seen in a while, or anything like that."
A cold front is expected to sweep through Saturday night, knocking temperatures back to seasonal by Sunday.
"That will help temperatures to cool off closer to normal for Sunday," she said.
Clear skies and gusty southwest winds were expected Friday and Saturday, with highs near 26 C and overnight lows around 5. A cool, cloudy Sunday will follow, with clearing skies overnight and temperatures falling to minus 1.
After the heat breaks, spring storms may not be far behind. Pimiskern said a seasonal uptick in thunderstorm activity is typical across the Prairies, though long-range forecasting is outside her scope.
"Typically May, we do start to see thunderstorm activity pick up across the Prairies," she said. "That is pretty typical for this time of the year — to see temperatures increase and to see an increase in thunderstorm activity."
By Sunday morning, the region could swing more than 25 degrees from Saturday’s high — a sharp end to a short burst of record-chasing heat.
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