The warm spell is winding down and we’re in for a beautiful autumn day in Edmonton Wednesday but, the chance of snow for Friday night/Saturday is increasing and even if the precipitation stays all rain, it’s going to be a chilly Thanksgiving weekend. Temperatures today should hit the mid to upper teens Wednesday afternoon and we’ll get sunny skies for most of the day. Clouds will start to increase late this afternoon and then there’s a chance of some showers in the area late Wednesday evening or overnight. The clouds stick around through Thursday, Friday, Saturday and all three days have a very good chance of precipitation. Thursday’s rain should hold off until late in the afternoon/evening. So, I think we’ll still get to 14 C or 15 C for an afternoon high ahead of that. Friday gets a bit cooler. There could be showers in the area for much of the day, but the heavier and steadier rain should be later in the afternoon or evening. Friday’s afternoon high in Edmonton looks like it’ll be somewhere around 12 C, THEN... things start to get really interesting. An upper trough (cold air aloft) sweeps through Alberta Friday, Saturday, Sunday. That should bring cold enough air in the mid and upper levels for snow in western and NW Alberta (some spots could see a significant snowfall -- 5 cm or more.) The question the past few days has been: will we see the precipitation transition from rain to snow as far east as the Edmonton area? AND... that’s looking more and more likely. I think we’ll almost certainly get at least a rain/snow mix Friday night and Saturday. If the current pattern holds, it’s not just possible... but likely... that we’ll get at least a few hours where it’s flat-out snow. Could we see some accumulation in the city? Yep... we definitely COULD. There’s still a few days for this to work itself out, but, at this point... I’d be preparing for a stormy start to the long weekend. On top of the chances for steadier rain and some snow - we’re in for gusty wind Friday night and through the day Saturday. If you have travel plans that put you on highways in western and northwestern Alberta, pay close attention to road and weather conditions late Friday and through the day Saturday because you might encounter the season’s first blast of blowing snow and icy roads. I’ll have more on all of this tonight on CTV News at Five and Six and in the afternoon WeatherBlast video. Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area: Today - Mainly sunny. Increasing cloud late in the afternoon. High: 17 Tonight - Mostly cloudy. 40% chance of a shower late this evening or overnight. 9pm: 10 Thursday - Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of rain late in the afternoon and through the evening. Morning Low: 6 Afternoon High: 15 Friday - Cloudy. 70% chance of showers. Steadier rain starting in the evening. Morning Low: 6 Afternoon High: 12 Rain transitioning to snow or a rain/snow mix overnight. Gusty. Saturday - Cloudy. Periods of rain or snow. Wind gusting to 50 km/h. Morning Low: 2 Afternoon High: 4 Sunday - Mostly cloudy. Morning Low: -2 Afternoon High: 6 Monday - Partly cloudy. Morning Low: -3 Afternoon High: 10
