Josh Classen's forecast: Spring-like conditions linger all week, but a return to winter isn't far off

We reached the peak of the warm spell with a record-setting high of 12.4 C in Edmonton Tuesday.

Afternoon highs will stay well above average through the rest of the week. But, we won't top Tuesday's temperatures.

Edmonton and area should get an afternoon high in the 5 to 9 C range today with some sunshine and breezy conditions developing this afternoon.

The SE direction of the wind won't allow for as much "mixing down" of the warm air aloft as we had Tuesday and gusts will be in the 30 km/h range for much of the afternoon.

The breezy conditions will persist through the evening and temperatures should stay really mild through the evening and overnight, just barely slipping below 0 C Thursday morning.

Thursday afternoon's high looks like it'll come in a degree or two warmer than Wednesday. So...in the 7 to 10 C range for a high.

The real cooldown won't hit until Sunday. Daytime highs in the 2 to 6 C range are expected Friday/Saturday in Edmonton.

By Sunday, it's very likely that we'll get our first sub-0 C daytime high since Jan. 23.

At this point, it doesn't appear that we'll slip into a deep freeze next week. It'll be a LOT colder than this week, though.

Temperatures are expected to drop back to around average: highs near -5 C and lows in the -11 to -15 C range.

The only thing to keep in mind is that there's always some uncertainty about just HOW MUCH of a drop or rise in temperature we'll see when we're a few days out from a major pattern change.

We underestimated the current warm spell by several degrees when we were looking at it a week out and it's possible the same is happening now as we look ahead to next week's cooldown.

I'm really just trying to be within two degrees of the actual highs.

So...highs near -2 C early next week could realistically be anywhere in the 0 to -5 C range and highs near -6 C at the end of next week could be anywhere in the -4 to -9 C range.

Bottom line: The spring-like conditions will be replaced with more a more seasonal weather pattern for next week.

 

Here's the forecast for Edmonton and area:

Today - Sunny with a few clouds.

Wind: SE 20 with gusts 30-40 km/h in the afternoon.

High: 7

 

Tonight - A few clouds.

Wind: SE 15-20 with gusts near 30 km/h through the evening.

9pm: 5

 

Thursday - Partly cloudy.

Morning Low: -1

Afternoon High: 9

 

Friday - Mostly cloudy.

Morning Low: -5

Afternoon High: 4

 

Saturday - Mostly cloudy.

Morning Low: -4

Afternoon High: 5

 

Sunday - Mix of sun & cloud.

Morning Low: -10

Afternoon High: -2

 

Monday - Mostly cloudy.

Morning Low: -10

Afternoon High: -2