Josh Classen's forecast: Scattered showers, staying warm, some smoke on the way

An aerial image of downtown Edmonton taken over Bellamy Hill and Rossdale roads on May 16, 2024. (Cam Wiebe / CTV News Edmonton)

A few scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Edmonton area early this morning.

Most of the city will miss out on the more precipitation, but there's another chance for some scattered  rain late this afternoon.

The best chance for thunderstorms will be in northwest Alberta, just south of Edmonton and in east-central Alberta.

For most of today, just partly cloudy skies over the city and temperatures will climb to around 27 or 28 C.

Thick smoke continues to be an issue in northwestern Alberta today and the modelling from Environment and Climate Change Canada indicates some of that smoke will move south toward the Edmonton region tonight and early Wednesday.

How bad the air quality will get remains to be seen, but I think it's safe to expect at least "moderate risk" air quality readings and possibly even "high risk" levels of smoke Wednesday morning.

The thickest smoke is forecast to move east of the Edmonton area by later Wednesday.

East-central and northeast Alberta should expect air quality to get worse through the day Wednesday.

Thursday and Friday are a little more uncertain, but thick smoke is likely from the Peace Country east through the Fort McMurray and Cold Lake regions.

Whether that drops a bit further south into the Edmonton region remains to be seen.

Temperatures continue to top out in the mid 20s Wednesday/Thursday in Edmonton, but some "cooler" conditions are expected for Friday/Saturday with a good chance of showers or periods of rain (especially Friday).

Afternoon highs will be around 20 C both those days, although that'll depend on how steady the rain is.

Long-range modelling indicates a return to the mid 20s for Sunday and most/all of next week.

 

Here's the forecast for Edmonton and area:

Today - A few scattered showers & thunderstorms in the area early this morning.

Then...Partly cloudy. Slight risk of a shower or thunderstorm late this afternoon.

High: 28

 

Tonight - Partly cloudy. Increasing smoke overnight.

9pm: 22

 

Wednesday - Smoke/haze likely (especially in the morning). Otherwise, Mainly sunny.

Morning Low: 15

Afternoon High: 26

 

Thursday - Mainly sunny.

Morning Low: 14

Afternoon High: 26

 

Friday - Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of showers.

Morning Low: 14

Afternoon High: 21

 

Saturday - Mostly cloudy. 40% chance of showers.

Morning Low: 13

Afternoon High: 22

 

Sunday - Partly cloudy.

Morning Low: 13

Afternoon High: 26