Here it is...
Gusty wind developed overnight & it'll be with us ALL DAY.
Don't expect the wind to die down until after midnight tonight.
It'll drop to 15-20km/h by Thursday morning.
Areas in the wind warning can expect gusts of 80-100km/h today.
(if you're reading this after Noon Wednesday, check here for the latest updates on the warning: www.weather.gc.ca/warnings )

The combination of mid-level wind (and warmth) being mixed down & a VERY deep low pressure system are generating powerful wind.
Imagine high & low pressure systems are buildings - a HIGH is a tower & a LOW is a bungalow.  
The greater the difference between the two, the steeper the "hill" or pressure gradient.  
The wind blows from high to low & because of how strong (deep) the low in N Alberta is...
there's an unusually "steep hill"/tight pressure gradient across the province today.

Parts of North-Central Alberta have had gusts of 100-120km/h overnight & early this morning.
The Capital Region's strongest gusts will likely hit midday and early this afternoon.
Gusts most of the day will be in the 70-80km/h range, but they're expected to peak at 90-100km/h.

That puts us CLOSE to the records, but not quite over the top.
Record wind speed for Edmonton in January:  
Max sustained - 68km/h Jan 2, 1953
Max gust - 114km/h Jan 5, 1972

Speaking of records...we set a record high at 4am this morning.
Edmonton hit 9.2 degrees and that breaks the old record of 8.0 set last year.
(prior to that, the record for January 15th was 7.2 in 1965)

You can thank the wind for that warmth.  We were thinking that warm air aloft would stay trapped up there.
But, it was mixed down to the surface with the increased wind speed overnight.
Mid-level temperatures are dropping & we'll also see surface temperature drop through the day.

Much nicer tomorrow.  Mild & a lot calmer.


Here's the Edmonton forecast:

Today - Mainly sunny.
Wind:  WNW 40-50 with gusts 70-90
Temperature falling to 1

Tonight - Mainly clear.
Wind: NW 30 gusting to 50 this evening, easing overnight.
Low:  -3

Thursday - Partly cloudy.
Wind:  W 15-20
High:  2

Friday - Partly cloudy.
Wind:  WNW 20-30
Morning Low:  -2
Afternoon High:  4  

Saturday - Mix of sun & cloud.
Morning Low:  -3
Afternoon High:  6
 
Sunday - Partly cloudy.
Morning Low:  -4
Afternoon High:  1

Monday - Partly cloudy.
Morning Low:  -5
Afternoon High:  1