Josh Classen's forecast: Warming trend ramps up

Hot weather in Edmonton. (CTV News Edmonton)

Get set for another string of days with afternoon highs in the 25- to 30-degree range.

Edmonton ended July and started August with seven straight days hitting 25 or hotter.

Then, it flipped. Thursday was our fifth consecutive day with a high below 25 degrees.

Now...it appears we'll start another lengthy string of days above 25 either today or Saturday and that streak could (once again) reach seven days.

The hottest temperatures in Alberta will continue to be across parts of the north. NW Alberta has had afternoons in the upper 20s for the past few days and now Heat Warnings have been issued for the High Level and Fort Chipewyan regions with forecast highs near 30 for the next few days.

Some of that hotter air will ripple south and southeast through the weekend. So...Edmonton gets to about 25 today and we continue to gain 1 or 2 degrees of heat each day through the weekend and into early next week.

Mon/Tue look to be the peak of the coming warm spell. I'm going with highs of 28 for both those days, but anywhere in the 27 to 30 degree range is possible.

Wed/Thu should still be in the mid-20s and then we'll drop back to the lower 20s for the end of next week.

A few scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible in the mountain parks later today and again late Saturday. But, the rest of the province looks dry and mostly sunny for the next few days.

Smoke does NOT look like it'll be much of an issue for Edmonton or central Alberta through the weekend, just a bit of high-level haze possibly. Air quality levels should remain in the "low-risk" range.

There's a SLIGHT risk of a shower in the Edmonton region late Monday night.

Aside from that, it's a dry forecast for the next few days.

Looking LONG range - there's a good amount of uncertainty with what happens beyond Wed/Thu. Some of the modelling indicates temperatures dropping to the 18 to 22 degree range for the end of next week and some modelling indicates a returning Upper Ridge and temperatures climbing back into the upper 20s.

For now...I'm hedging my bets and going with highs in the 23/24 degree range. But, anywhere between 18 and 29 looks possible.

So...let's see how it plays out!

 

Here's the forecast for Edmonton and area:

 

Today - Mainly sunny.

High: 25

 

Tonight - Clear.

9pm: 21

 

Saturday - Mainly sunny.

Morning Low: 13

Afternoon High: 26

 

Sunday - Sunny with a few clouds.

Morning Low: 13

Afternoon High: 27

 

Monday - Partly cloudy. Slight risk of an evening shower.

Morning Low: 16

Afternoon High: 28

 

Tuesday - Mix of sun & cloud.

Morning Low: 15

Afternoon High: 28

 

Wednesday - Partly cloudy.

Morning Low: 15

Afternoon High: 26