Despite similar morning temperatures, Wednesday started with much better weather conditions than Tuesday, with dry roads in most of Calgary.

There were still some lingering effects from the precipitation from earlier in the week in southern Alberta, but Wednesday’s sunshine and warmer temperatures will take care of that by midday.

A changing weather pattern will introduce persistent westerly flow across southern Alberta over the next few days, lifting both daytime highs and overnight lows.

In Calgary, the wind is expected to shift from southwest to west on Wednesday with Chinook-like conditions across the region.

In the southwestern corner of Alberta, wind gusts are expected to reach between 40 and 70 km/h, which is well below the threshold to issue a wind warning for that area.

A strong ridge of high pressure will sit over the western provinces during the end of the week, extending as far north as the territories.

Wednesday’s high of 9 C in Calgary will be the coldest day of the next three, despite a nighttime temperature that is as warm as the average daytime high for this time of year.

Most southern Alberta communities will see a similar trend with temperatures rising through Friday.

By the end of the week, Calgary is expected to reach a high of 15 C, which is three times warmer than the average high of 5 C.

That ridge will begin to break down on Sunday and temperatures are expected to fall below seasonal by early next week.