It’ll be a warm morning, but stormy afternoon

Homes can be seen in front of the Edmonton skyline. (Dave Mitchell/CTV News Edmonton)

The worst of today’s storm will miss the Edmonton region, but we are expecting conditions to take a sharp turn (even in the city) this afternoon.

• Hourly and 7-day forecast on our CTVNewsEdmonton.ca weather hub

A cold front whips through the area early this afternoon bringing a chance of rain turning to snow and wind gusts in the 30 to 50 km/h range.

We’ll also see temperatures plummeting rapidly through the afternoon hours.

So...after warming to a handful of degrees above 0 C by midday, we’ll slip a couple degrees below 0 C by 6 p.m.

Timing will be key in regards to how nasty the evening commute will be.

Best-case scenario has minimal precipitation moving through Edmonton early this afternoon and ending by 5 p.m. That would mean slick roads and gusty wind for 4-6 p.m.

Worst-case scenario has a few centimetres of snow on top of roads that are icing over and powerful gusts reducing visibility (blowing snow) through that timeframe.

I think we’ll PROBABLY end up closer to the first (better) scenario, but prepare for an ugly drive home later today and if the worst does miss us, great.

Elsewhere: snow squall watches are in place for the Peace Country, Hinton/Edson and the Whitecourt/Westlock/Athabasca regions. Gusty wind and intense bands of snow will create near-zero visibility at times this afternoon.

Snowfall warnings are in effect for the foothills and the Icefields Parkway with 15 to 30 cm of snow expected, with most of that coming tonight and through Friday.

So, as I wrote right off the top: It’ll be a lot worse outside the Edmonton area (something to keep in mind if you have plans to travel into/through those areas later today and Friday).

Behind the cold front, temperatures will drop back into the -10 to -15 C range for Friday/Saturday (and around -20 C Saturday morning).

Thankfully, the wind will ease tonight and should be light on Friday/Saturday.

Mild air moves back in through Sunday/Monday.

Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area:

Today - Mostly cloudy. A brief blast of rain turning to snow this afternoon. 1-3cm likely.

Wind becoming NW 20 with gusts in the 30-50 km/h range this afternoon.

Noon: 5

6pm: -1

Tonight - Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of flurries/light snow.

9pm: -6

Friday - Cloudy. 40% chance of flurries/light snow.

Morning Low: -15

Afternoon High: -14

Saturday - Mix of sun & cloud.

Morning Low: -20

Afternoon High: -8

Sunday - Mix of sun & cloud.

Morning Low: -13

Afternoon High: 0

Monday - Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of late-day rain/snow.

Morning Low: -5

Afternoon High: 3

Tuesday - Mostly cloudy.

Morning Low: -4

Afternoon High: 1