Calgary expected to heat up in time for Christmas

After a cold snap dropped Calgary's temperature earlier this week, a chinook is en route to warm up the city for a relatively balmy holiday season.

Calgary is forecasted to hit an above average high of 5 C on Friday, and to roughly maintain that level through the weekend. The temperature will bump up even further on Christmas Day, with a projected high of 8 C expected for Dec. 25 and 26.

A wide variety of weather conditions have hit Calgary during the holidays in recent years, but the incoming warm spell will make for a more brown Christmas than usual.

"For Calgary, you can get a little bit of everything this time of year," said Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Christy Climenhaga.

"If you're just looking at Christmas Day for the past 20 years or so, you've had everything from plus 15 degree highs to minus 23 degree highs."

The warmer weather follows temperatures that wind chill made feel colder than –20 in Calgary earlier this week.

Climenhaga added that Calgary's snowpack has been dwindling recently, and the city could see most of it gone by Christmas Day.

Historical data from Environment Canada shows that this is expected to be the warmest Christmas that Calgary has seen in more than a decade. Late December has been trending warmer in Calgary in recent years, but Climenhaga noted the warmest Christmas Days that Calgary has seen have been highs of around 15 degrees in 2005 and 1985.

Looking ahead, Climenhaga said the above average temperatures are expected to stay for a while, with Calgary not looking at temperatures dropping far below freezing for the rest of the year. She added the warm weather is expected for much of the province until the end of the month.

Climenhaga did note a chance of showers on the weekend, which could throw a wrench into travel plans for the holidays.

"It's a big travel weekend, lots of people heading out on the roads for the holidays," Climenhaga said. "So especially into your Sunday morning, as you see that little system even though it's pretty weak, it could make for some icy roads in southern Alberta, especially if you're heading east toward the Saskatchewan area."