Josh Classen's forecast: Snow today and then even colder tomorrow
We haven't hit the bottom of the cold spell yet. That'll come Thursday/Friday/Saturday.
It'll be the coldest first week of Decemer since... 2013. (Probably not as long ago as you might've guessed.)
We'll get to that in a moment, first let's talk snow. Some flurries will move through into the Edmonton area this morning and then intensify a bit this afternoon.
By the time it moves out of the area this evening, we'll probably have 2 to 5 cm of fresh snow on the ground (and it looks like 5 cm is more likely than 2 cm).
With most of that snow coming this afternoon, the evening commute will be affected far more than the morning commute.
Areas north of Highway 16 will get progressively lower amounts the further north you are with the Grande Prairie, Slave Lake Cold Lake areas only getting a dusting to 2 cm.
It's areas near Red Deer and east and south of that area that could get the most snow (potentially 5 to 10 cm).
Gusty wind in east-central Alberta will also create significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow later this afternoon.
Wind speeds in the Edmonton region should be around 15-20 km/h.
So, that's not TERRIBLY strong. But, it's enough to create a bit of blowing snow in exposed areas and along outlying roads and highways.
Temperatures should hold fairly steady around -16 C much of the day and that'll mean wind chills around -23 C for most of today.
Wind eases overnight tonight and I have the city dropping to around -21 C Thursday morning.
IF skies clear a bit sooner than I'm expecting, we could be a couple degrees colder.
Sunny with a few clouds and a high near -19 C Thursday afternoon (with almost no wind).
The coldest temperatures come Friday morning and Saturday morning.
There's a real shot at hitting -30 C on Friday morning. I currently have a morning low of -29 C.
Saturday morning should also be in the -25 C to -30 C range (but, probably a degree or two "warmer" than Friday morning).
Temperatures are expected to stay in the -20s ALL DAY Friday.
Saturday afternoon climbs to the mid minus teens.
AND...the arctic air BRIEFLY shifts a bit late Saturday/early Sunday. So, I'm thinking we'll get close to -10 C (maybe even a single-digit temperature) on Sunday.
We'll probably return to highs in the minus teens for Monday/Tuesday.
Looking LONG range - there's a chance we get into some milder air for the middle to the end of next week. But, we'll probably still remain colder than average (average highs next week are in the -4 C range).
Back to that "coldest since" issue:
Three of the past five years have had really mild starts to December.
This year, we'll have an average high around -14 C from Dec. 1 to 7.
That's the coldest since the avg high of -14 C in 2013.
Here's more:
***We'll probably have a high below -20 C in the first week of December.
That hasn't happened since 2013 (-21 C on Dec. 5).
***Edmonton will drop below -25 C in the first week of December.
That hasn't happened since 2013 (it happened FOUR times that year).
***Edmonton might hit -30 C in the first week of December this year.
That hasn't happened since (you guessed it) 2013. We hit -31 C twice that year.
So...you might be wondering, "what happened in the rest of December 2013?"
History doesn't often repeat itself. BUT...it does give us a guide.
AND...that guide shows us we probably won't stay cold for the entire month.
Edmonton had a high above zero by Dec. 15, 2013. We ended up with eight days above 0 C by the end of the month.
However, the month as a whole ended up about four degrees colder than average.
Here's the forecast for Edmonton and area:
Today - Cloudy with periods of snow. 2 to 5 cm.
Wind: E 15-20 km/h
Temperatures steady near -16 ***wind chill near -23 for most of the day
Tonight - Snow ending this evening. Partly cloudy overnight.
9pm: -18
Thursday - Sunny with a few clouds. Light wind.
Morning Low: -21
Afternoon High: -19
Friday - Sunny with a few clouds.
Morning Low: -29
Afternoon High: -21
Saturday - Mix of sun & cloud.
Morning Low: -27
Afternoon High: -15
Sunday - Mix of sun & cloud.
Morning Low: -16
Afternoon High: -10
Monday - Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of flurries.
Morning Low: -16
Afternoon High: -13
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.