Hay River and Fort Providence are under heat warnings for temperatures of 30C or above on Friday afternoon and Saturday.
Both communities had already hit 30C by 4pm on Friday and are expected to see similar highs on Saturday, with a risk of a thunderstorm in the afternoon.
Much of northern Alberta is under a similar warning, including Wood Buffalo National Park. Air quality advisories remain in place for some regions because of wildfire smoke.
Wildfires continue to burn across significant stretches of northern Alberta, the South Slave and the Dehcho, and officials reiterated pleas on Friday for residents to take care with fires over the weekend.
“Hot, dry temperatures are expected to continue for the majority of the territory today and tomorrow,” the NWT’s wildfire agency stated on Twitter.
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“Windy conditions are expected for parts of the territory as well, resulting in extreme fire conditions. Smoke can be expected throughout the territory over the coming days.”
At the start of the week, forecasters had suggested Fort Smith could reach a record-nearing 36C on Saturday with Yellowknife expected to hit 30C.
However, those forecast highs have steadily dropped throughout the week as a clearer picture emerged of the weekend weather.
Yellowknife is now expected to reach just 23C on Saturday, with another wet week in prospect after that. Fort Smith’s expected Saturday high is 32C.
