Josh Classen’s forecast: Warm and calm today, turning stormy Thursday

The sun rises behind downtown Edmonton in this aerial photo taken on Jan. 8, 2025. (Cam Wiebe / CTV News Edmonton)

Temperatures hovered above the freezing mark overnight and early this morning in the Edmonton region.

That’s a stark contrast from what’s coming in just a few days as temperatures tank.

Cloudy, light wind and temperatures steady in the 3-5 C range in the city today.

We’ll still get some “warm” temperatures Thursday and should hit a high of 2 or 3 C midday.

BUT...it’ll start to cool off through the afternoon as a cold front sweeps through. Highs will plummet to the -10 C range Friday and near -20 C on Saturday and Sunday.

The other big story with that cold front sweeping through is the wind. Gusts will be in the 50-60 km/h range for most of Thursday in Edmonton and surrounding areas. It’s possible we get a few gusts near 70 km/h.

Elsewhere, northwestern Alberta and east-central Alberta could get gusts closer to 90 km/h on Thursday.

Snowfall warnings are in effect from High Level southeast through Fort McMurray; more than 20-25 cm of snow is possible in that region Thursday.

Cold Lake/Bonnyville is not included in that warning (as of now), but it looks like we could get 10-15 cm in that area.

There’s also a good chance of some freezing rain ahead of that snow in northeastern Alberta.

The combo of wind, freezing rain and snow will make for terrible travel conditions in that part of the province Thursday.

Edmonton and area will probably get some showers or mixed precipitation in the morning/midday and then some light snow later in the day.

Snowfall accumulation isn’t expected to be overly significant (probably 1-2 cm...maybe as much as 4 cm).

But...blowing snow could be a big issue, especially later in the day.

The cold spell will last from Friday through Monday, with the weekend being the coldest days.

Temperatures start to rise by Monday evening and we’ll be back close to the freezing mark by Tuesday afternoon.

Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area:

Today - Sunny breaks this morning. Then...Mostly cloudy.

High: 5

Tonight - Cloudy periods.

9pm: 1

Thursday - Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of morning or midday showers turning to afternoon/evening snow.

Windy. NW 30 with gusts in the 50-60 km/h range.

Temperature falling in the afternoon.

Morning Low: -1

Noon: 3

5pm: -2

Friday - Mostly cloudy. 60% chance of late-day light snow.

Morning Low: -12

Afternoon High: -9

Saturday - Partly cloudy.

Morning Low: -22

Afternoon High: -18

Sunday - Mainly sunny.

Morning Low: -26

Afternoon High: -19

Monday - Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of late-day flurries.

Morning Low: -25

Afternoon High: -13