Edmonton weather: Cloudy and mild today, significant snow event Thursday

It's getting colder in Edmonton and there's snow on the forecast for Thursday.

Heavy snowfall will push into western and NW Alberta through the day today, but we won’t see that heavier snow until Thursday in the Edmonton region.

Grande Prairie and area are under a Snowfall Warning with 10-15 cm of snow expected by the end of today (and possibly closer to 20 cm in a few spots).

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That snow will spread east tonight, but it still looks like most of tonight’s snow will be falling north of the Edmonton region.

We might see some flurries or a bit of light snow late today/tonight in the city.

But, it’s the next push of moisture coming in from the SW that’ll really target our area.

It’s always a bit of a guessing game with snowfall estimates, and it’s even more difficult at this time of year when snow-to-liquid ratios & melting factors have to be taken into consideration.

So...take the following numbers on the snow totals maps below with a bit of a grain of salt. But, I’m including the map to give you a look at where the bulk of the snow will be falling (and accumulating).

This first map shows an estimate of how much snow will be on the ground by Thursday morning.

You can see the bulk of the snow for today & tonight will be in the Grande Prairie/Grande Cache/Slave Lake regions.

I think the actual totals could be a bit higher than the 8 & 9 cm depicted (and so does the ECCC forecast).

For the Edmonton region, not a lot of fresh snow on the ground by the time we wake up Thursday.

The bulk of Edmonton’s accumulation will come in the afternoon and evening hours of Thursday (as you can see on this map).

Ten-20 cm is likely for the Edmonton regions with higher amounts in the purple zones to the north of the city, as well as in parts of western and east-central AB.

(And...there’s the potential for 20-25 cm in a few spots as well).

If you read yesterday’s WxBlog, you’ll notice the main snow zone has shifted north, so areas to the south and east of Edmonton now look like they’ll get significantly less than areas around and north of Edmonton.

Bottom line: This will be a significant snow event and that snow will be accompanied by some gusty wind and colder air.

Temperatures will top out in the -5 C range Thursday and wind chill will be in the -10 to -15 range.

Blowing snow is also expected to be an issue.

The snow moves out by Friday, but the colder air sticks around through the weekend.

Daytime highs bounce back to around or above zero by early to mid next week.

Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area:

Today - Mostly cloudy. 30% chance of a few flurries.

Wind becoming E 15-20 gusting to 30 km/h

High: -1

Tonight - Cloudy with a 60% chance of light snow this evening & overnight.

Wind NE 15 gusting to 30 km/h

9pm: -4

Thursday - Cloudy with periods of snow, turning heavier in the afternoon & evening.

10 to 20 cm likely.

Wind NE 15-20 gusting to 40 km/h.

Morning Low: -7

Afternoon High: -5

Friday - Mostly cloudy.

Morning Low: -14

Afternoon High: -8

Saturday - Mix of sun & cloud.

Morning Low: -15

Afternoon High: -8

Sunday - Mostly cloudy. 40% chance of late-day snow.

Morning Low: -11

Afternoon High: -4

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

Morning Low: -12

Afternoon High: -3