Josh Classen's forecast: Heat's gone, cooling trend begins

Cooler, but not cold for the next few days.

 

A cold front ripped across the province with gusty wind and a bit of precipitation last night.

Behind that front, we'll be about a dozen degrees cooler in the Edmonton area compared to yesterday.

That still leaves us with a high in the 6 C to 8 C range, though.

It's a bit more dramatic of a drop in Fort McMurray where it hit 15.7 C Wednesday and will be around 0 C for a high today.

 

I'll get to the forecast in a moment. First, let's recap yesterday's warmth.

 

Wednesday's high of 18.7 C wasn't a record-setter for Edmonton, but it WAS the second-warmest March 23 on record.

Big thanks to @yegwxnerdery on Twitter for tipping us off to that bit of trivia. (If you're on Twitter, are interested in weather stats, and aren't following Chris, you're missing out!)

The record for March 23 remains 22.2 C, set in 1889.

 

It WAS, however, the warmest March day since 2004.

There was one day in March of 2015 was close...we hit 18.2 C that day.

But...you have to go back to 2004 to find the last time it was hotter on any day in March.

It hit 23.5 C on March 30, 2004.

(Side note: That's the all-time record high for the month.)

 

OK, enough looking back... let's look ahead.

Partly cloudy skies, breezy northwest wind and just a SLIGHT risk of a brief, scattered shower in the north-central Alberta.

Doesn't look like it'll amount to much of anything. But, there might be a couple showers or wet flurries that pop up in the area.

 

There's a much better chance for some snow over the coming days.

Friday night into Saturday morning looks very likely - accumulation estimate: 0 to 2 cm

Saturday night into Sunday morning looks likely - accumulation estimate: 0 to 2 cm

Monday (especially in the morning) looks possible - accumulation estimate: 0 to 2 cm.

 

We're not expecting a big, heavy dump of snow in the Edmonton region this weekend. But...some flurries or light snow will move through.

Temperatures will be in the 1 C to 5 C range with Saturday likely being the coolest of the weekend.

We'll rebound to highs near 10 C by Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

 

Here's the forecast for Edmonton:

 

Today - Partly cloudy. SLIGHT risk of a brief, scattered shower this afternoon.

High: 7

 

Tonight - Cloudy periods.

9pm: 1

 

Friday - Partly cloudy. 70% chance of light snow in the evening and overnight.

Morning Low: -6

Afternoon High: 4

 

Saturday - 70% chance of light snow early in the morning. Cloudy with sunny breaks most of the day.

60% chance of flurries in the evening and overnight.

Morning Low: -5

Afternoon High: 2

 

Sunday - 60% chance of flurries in the morning. Partly cloudy for most of the day.

Morning Low: -5

Afternoon High: 4

 

Monday - Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of flurries.

Morning Low: -4

Afternoon High: 4

 

Tuesday - Partly cloudy.

Morning Low: -4

Afternoon High: 8