Cloudy and cool will be the operative words for today in Edmonton and area. We may see a few showers move through the area late this morning/midday, but I don’t think we’re in for any downpours or steady rain through the daytime hours. Most of the rain this morning will pass to the south of the Edmonton region and we’ll have some showers in northwestern Alberta as well. The best chance for showers/rain this afternoon will be in east-central Alberta. There’s another wave of moisture that’ll push into the province from the west this evening. I think the best chance of seeing some of that in or near Edmonton is late tonight/overnight (probably after 11 p.m., if at all). By Saturday morning, most of that rain is north of the Edmonton region as the band of showers stretches from Peace River/High Level southeast towards Cold Lake. But...I’ve kept a 30-per cent chance of a scattered shower in the forecast for Saturday morning in Edmonton. Again, like today, it should be more cloudy than rainy. We’ll see some sunny breaks through the day Saturday and then a chance of a hit-and-miss shower or thunderstorm Saturday evening. Sunnier skies for most of Sunday. Then, some late-day clouds and a chance of a late-afternoon/early-evening hit-and-miss shower or thunderstorm in the region. Bottom line: There are several chances for some showers, but we’re not dealing with hours and hours of heavy/steady rain over the next three days. Temperatures crawled to a high of 18 C on Thursday. But, I think we’ll be a degree or two cooler than that for today’s afternoon high. I’m going with a high of 16 C and some wind this afternoon. Looks like SE 15-20 km/h for most of the afternoon with some gusts in the 30-40 km/h range. Afternoon highs return to the 20s for Saturday/Sunday. That’ll put us back to average for mid August. Looking long range: An upper ridge will build in over the Prairies next week. But, it looks like it’ll be centred on Saskatchewan, so we’re on the back edge of it. So...unless that shifts further west, I don’t think we’ll get any 27-30 C heat. Instead, we’ll be in the low to mid 20s for afternoons highs next week and we’ll probably see a few days with a risk of late-day showers/thunderstorms riding in from the southwest on that back edge of the ridge. Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area: Today - Cloudy. 40% chance of a few showers. Wind becoming SE 20 gusting to 40 this afternoon. High: 16 Tonight - Mostly cloudy. 40% chance of showers late this evening/overnight. 9pm: 15 Saturday - Cloudy with a few sunny breaks. 30% chance of a shower in the morning. 40% chance of a shower or thunderstorm in the evening. Morning Low: 11 Afternoon High: 22 Sunday - Partly cloudy. 30% chance of a late-day shower or thunderstorm. Morning Low: 11 Afternoon High: 24 Monday - Partly cloudy. Morning Low: 12 Afternoon High: 25 Tuesday - Mix of sun & cloud. 30% chance of a late-day shower/thunderstorm. Morning Low: 13 Afternoon High: 25 Wednesday - Mix of sun & cloud. 30% chance of a late-day shower/thunderstorm. Morning Low: 13 Afternoon High: 23
