If you complained about the days when the mercury hit close to 40 degrees Celsius, you may wish you hadn't.

Dan Kulak, Meteorologist with Environment Canada shares you may want to put away the flip-flops and grab a pair of mittens for the next short while. "It does look like cooler weather is in store for much of Alberta over the next few days and it's actually already arriving with some cooler conditions, showers, and by the middle of the week we might even see some white stuff in the air and maybe melting on the ground."

While snow in mid-September is considered a little early, Kulak says data collected from the Springbank airport shows it is not an anomaly to get something in. "Looking at the climatology, on average the stats that we have from the airport do show about 5 centimetres as the normal snowfall for the whole month of September. We do get that snowfall, on average, in September for one to two days a month where we do actually get snow falling in the Springbank area."

There is no real risk for icy conditions as temps are expected to remain mostly above freezing with the worst of the worst expected on Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. "We currently do have a forecast of -1, so anytime you have any minus temperatures like that it is definitely something for the gardeners and other people to start thinking about as we move into the middle part of September and an elevation of around 1200 metres in Southern Alberta."

If you are hoping for a fast recovery, don't get too excited. "The bottom in the thermometer does look to be Thursday morning for this week and then after that, it is a slow recovery with temperatures around the 10-degree mark for Saturday and Sunday but remaining kind of damp. The longer range for the next week and a half is suggesting it will stay on the cool side beyond the 7-day forecast that we have right now."

But don't worry, there is a glimmer of hope. "We do have the potential for a developing El Nino this coming fall and winter season. El Nino typically brings a milder and drier weather pattern to the Western parts of Canada including Southwestern Alberta but that being said no two El Nino's are the same. We have a situation where it's really not looking to be a very strong El Nino at least at this point in time. I think the bottom line is we look at our seasonal forecast which is suggesting a milder and drier normal wintertime but, in general, you are almost assured to get some sort of wintery weather during the winter."

The seasonal daytime norms for this time of year around Cochrane and Springbank are 17 degrees with overnight lows dropping to 3C.

The five-day weather forecast is listed below.

  • Today

    Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers late this afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. Wind north 20 km/h gusting to 40. High 14. UV index 4 or moderate.

  • Tonight

    Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers this evening. Risk of a thunderstorm early this evening. Fog patches developing overnight. Wind north 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light this evening. Low plus 3 with risk of frost.

  • Tuesday

    A mix of sun and cloud. Becoming cloudy in the afternoon with 30 percent chance of showers late in the afternoon. Risk of a thunderstorm late in the afternoon. Fog patches dissipating in the morning. Wind becoming southeast 20 km/h in the afternoon. High 14. UV index 5 or moderate.

  • Tuesday night

    Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Low plus 4.

  • Wednesday

    Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. High 8.

  • Wednesday night

    Cloudy with 70 percent chance of rain showers or flurries. Low minus 1.

  • Thursday

    Cloudy with 70 percent chance of flurries or rain showers. High plus 3.

  • Thursday night

    Cloudy periods. Low minus 2.

  • Friday

    Cloudy. High 9.

  • Friday night

    Cloudy with 30 percent chance of showers. Low plus 2.