There’s a big flip in the weather pattern coming this weekend. Edmonton and area will get close to 30 C again for one last time today (depending on whether or not we get a midday thunderstorm and the timing of that). By Saturday, temperatures start to cool. Edmonton drops back to the low 20s while western Alberta will be right around 20 C. East-central Alberta will go from the low 30s today to the mid-20s Saturday. That cooldown REALLY settles in for Sunday and early next week in Edmonton/Red Deer areas as heavy, steady rain settles over central and southern Alberta. Northwestern and eastern Alberta won’t see as much of a drop in temperature. But, Edmonton is probably looking at afternoon temperatures in the 10-14 C range for Sunday-Tuesday. An area of low pressure will move into the Peace Country today and that’ll be the focus for thunderstorms (possibly severe) in northwestern Alberta this afternoon and evening. Large hail, isolated downpours and potentially damaging gusts are possible with some of the storms. A trough of low pressure stretching southeast of that system through the Edmonton area and into east-central Alberta may also act as a trigger for some thunderstorms. The risk of severe storms in those areas is lower, but still possible. So, we may see some scattered showers/thunderstorms in the Edmonton region midday today. Saturday’s shaping up to be a bit breezy with a mix of sun and cloud. There’s a slight chance of a spotty shower during the daytime hours...but most of the day should be dry. We get a better chance for some showers or thunderstorms in the evening hours Saturday in Edmonton. An deep area of low pressure will move into the province from the south this weekend and stagnate over southern Alberta. That system looks like it’ll be hauling in a lot of moisture, so we’re expecting several days of over central and southern Alberta starting Sunday and continuing through the day Tuesday. Hardest-hit areas will very likely get over 100 mm (10 cm) of rain, but there will also be pockets that get closer to 40 or 50 mm over that time frame. At this point, it’s very difficult to pin down exactly where those heavier and lighter areas will be. So, I’m going with a forecast of approx 20-40 mm Sunday, 20-40 mm Monday and 10-20 mm Tuesday in the Edmonton region. Bottom line: The hot spell is over after today and it’s going to be cool, windy and really wet for a couple days starting Sunday and through early next week. Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area: Today - Partly cloudy. 30% chance of a midday shower or thunderstorm. High: 30 Tonight - Partly cloudy. 9pm: 23 Saturday - Mix of sun & cloud. 60% chance of evening showers or thunderstorms. Wind NW 15-20 gusting to 30-40 km/h. Morning Low: 14 Afternoon High: 22 Sunday - Cloudy with periods of rain. Approx 20-40mm Wind NW 30 gusting to 50 km/h. Morning Low: 12 Afternoon High: 13 Monday - Cloudy with periods of rain. Approx 20-40mm Wind NW 20 gusting to 40 km/h. Morning Low: 10 Afternoon High: 12 Tuesday - Cloudy with periods of rain. Approx 10-20mm Morning Low: 9 Afternoon High: 12 Wednesday - Mostly cloudy. Morning Low: 9 Afternoon High: 16
