Warm weather pay back is sweet

AFTER NEVER-ENDING WINTER, PEOPLE BASKING IN NEAR-RECORD MAY TEMPERATURES

After enduring a winter that would not end, southern Albertans may be getting their just reward.

Cross your fingers — but it looks like the May long weekend will be warm and dry. And we might not need to water our lawns.

After basking in 30 C warmth Tuesday, forecasters are calling for showers tonight and Thursday. The Weather Channel says there’s also the risk of a thunderstorm later today.

But the clouds should clear Friday, with the sun boosting temperatures toward a mild 20 C on Saturday. Then, with the chance of rainfall heading to zero, we’ll enjoy temperatures in the mid-20s on Sunday and Monday.

Beyond that, the folks at Weather Channel expect another warm week with afternoon highs around 20 and no more than a 20 per cent chance of rain. With overnight lows ranging about 10 C, there’s little danger of frost killing newly planted flowers.

There’s still snow in the Rockies, however, with temperatures in Banff remaining below 20 C over the weekend and the chance of showers in the mountains on Sunday.

While most Albertans can look forward to a carefree long weekend, others across Canada may not fare as well. Showers and highs below 20 C are expected over the weekend in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.

Residents of Vancouver face a 40 per cent chance of rain on Saturday as well. But inland, flood-affected Osoyoos — where Osoyoos Lake has risen so high it’s flooded beach-side motels — will see daytime highs in the upper 20s with the risk of more mountain-top snow melting and raising levels still higher.

And in Grand Forks, B.C., where the city’s entire downtown was swamped by the Granby and Kettle Rivers, showers this week will be followed by warmer days on the weekend — potentially bringing still more run-off water downstream to the border town.

Herald photo by Ian Martens Karen Dalton and Chelsey Hierzer take advantage of the warm afternoon weather to try their luck fishing Tuesday along the banks of the Oldman River. While showers are expected later this week, the forecast calls for that to clear heading into the long...