The developing system for Friday night/Saturday looks like it might end up being less about rain and more about the wind and the cool down. We’re still expecting some showers, especially late Friday night into the EARLY morning hours of Saturday. But, we should not see any heavy, steady, long-lasting rain in the Edmonton region. Outside of that, the outlook hasn’t changed much. We’ll have a few sunny breaks through the first half of Thursday, then cloudy through the afternoon and evening. Temperatures will be similar to Wednesday, up around 17 or 18 C for the high. There’s a slight chance of a shower late this evening, but most (probably all) of that rain will stay in the Edson/Whitecourt/Grande Prairie regions. That rain will stretch towards Fort McMurray Friday morning. Temperatures are only expected to drop to around 12 C overnight/early Friday morning. So, despite the cloudy skies Friday, we should get to the upper teens in the afternoon. THEN...we get the combo of a surface low driving south to north across the province AND an upper low swinging in. That’ll set off some heavier pockets of rain in the Rocky Mountain House/Nordegg regions (probably some snow at higher elevations in the mountain parks) Friday evening. The best chance for some of that rain to move through the Edmonton area comes late Friday evening and through the overnight. By early Saturday morning, most (maybe all) of the rain is up in northeastern Alberta. Areas near Fort McMurray will get some heavier pockets of rain early Saturday and possibly even some rain/snow mix. Edmonton stays cloudy through Saturday with a slight chance of a scattered shower. Cool and windy will be the operative words for Saturday. Temperatures will only get to 12 or 13 C for an afternoon high. Wind is expected to be out of the WNW around 20-30 km/h with gusts 40-50 km/h. The wind eases and the sun returns for Sunday, although temperatures will be slow to rebound. It’ll FEEL a lot warmer than Saturday...but we’ll only get to 15 or 16 C for a high. Morning temperatures will be well above 0 C Friday and Saturday. BUT... we’ll slip a LOT closer to the freezing mark Sunday-Tuesday mornings. Looking ahead to next week: Partly cloudy skies for most days and afternoon highs in the mid to upper teens. Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area: Today - Mix of sun & cloud this morning. Cloudy this afternoon. High: 18 Tonight - Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of a shower late this evening or overnight. 9pm: 14 Friday - Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of showers developing in the evening and overnight. Morning Low: 12 Afternoon High: 18 Saturday - Mostly cloudy. 40% chance of a shower early in the morning. 30% chance of a scattered shower in the afternoon. Windy. WNW 20-30 with gusts 40-50 km/h. Morning Low: 7 Afternoon High: 12 Sunday - Mainly sunny. Light wind. Morning Low: 3 Afternoon High: 15 Monday - Partly cloudy. Morning Low: 2 Afternoon High: 17 Tuesday - Partly cloudy. Morning Low: 4 Afternoon High: 19
