Josh Classen's forecast: Warmer air returns today, snow could return this weekend

Warming means messy day on Edmonton roads CTV Edmonton's Cory Edel has your Thursday forecast.

Temperatures will climb back above the freezing mark in Edmonton and across all of the western half of the province.

Eastern Alberta will see temperatures slightly above average, but slightly below 0 C in most areas.

The melt will be back on as we should get see some sunshine breaking through the clouds in the Edmonton region today, although it won't be bright blue skies all day.

Cloudcover increases overnight and we're back to mostly cloudy conditions for Friday and Saturday.

Temperatures hover around the freezing mark overnight and we'll be a handful of degrees above 0 C again Friday. Saturday looks like it should be three to five degrees above 0 C as well.

Then...some cooler air dives in through the day Sunday.

The precipitation outlook has changed a bit. I'm adding a slight chance of a shower into the forecast for Friday afternoon. With temperatures well above the 0 C, we shouldn't see a repeat of the freezing rain that hit parts of the Edmonton area Wednesday.

Saturday evening and Sunday morning are looking a lot more interesting. The low-pressure system that we thought would stay well south of the Edmonton area is now projected to be a bit further north (according to the latest model runs).

That could put the precipitation zone right over Edmonton and surroudning areas.

If that DOES play out, we could see some rain late Saturday that flips over to snow Saturday night and Sunday morning as the cooler air pushes in from the north.

It's a bit too early to start estimating potential snowfall totals for any given area since the exact location of that snow zone is still uncertain.

But...there's the potential for upwards of 10 or more centimetres of snow in hardest-hit areas.

Bottom line: If you have travel plans that put you on highways in central and north-central Alberta this weekend, keep a close eye on the weather and check road conditions before you head out.

For now...I'm going with a 60-per cent chance of showers changing over to snow for late Saturday into Sunday morning with the "potential for significant accumulation" in Edmonton.

On a personal note, I'm off work Friday, so this will be the last WxBlog of the week. But, I'll update the weekend precipitation setup this afternoon. Kim Wynn and Cory Edel will update things on Friday with CTV Morning Live and CTV News at 5 and 6 p.m.

Here's the forecast for Edmonton and area:

Today - Partly cloudy.

High: 4

Tonight - Increasing cloud overnight.

9pm: 1

Friday - Cloudy with a few sunny breaks. 30% chance of a late-day shower.

Morning Low: -1

Afternoon High: 5

Saturday - Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of a few showers.

Morning Low: -2

Afternoon High: 4

60% chance of snow overnight. Risk of significant accumulation.

Sunday - 60% chance of morning snow. Then...Mostly cloudy.

Temperature falling through the day.

Morning: 1

Afternoon: -4

Monday - Mix of sun & cloud.

Morning Low: -10

Afternoon High: -3

Tuesday - Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of flurries.

Morning Low: -7

Afternoon High: -1