Wind storm set to slam Alberta Thursday

Wind Warnings are in effect for much of central and eastern Alberta and the Edmonton area is under a Special Weather Statement (also related to the strong gusts in the forecast).

Areas within the warning zone will see gusts in the 80-100 km/h range through the day Thursday. The Edmonton region will get gusts in the 60-80 km/h range Thursday.

If you’re in either of those alert areas, secure any loose items in your yard this evening ahead of the strongest wind to minimize potential damage from flying debris.

The storm system will also bring some rain to much of the province, with the heaviest rain expected to hit parts of northwest and northeast Alberta.

A rainfall Warning is in place for areas from Peace River east to Fort McMurray and Cold Lake regions. In general, 25-30mm is expected. But, some localized pockets of 50mm are possible.

For the Edmonton region, this will be more of a wind storm than a rain storm. That said, we’ll likely get 2 to 5mm of rain Wednesday night/Thursday morning and possibly another 5-ish millimetres of rain Friday.

A big cooldown is also on the way as we head into the long weekend. Daytime highs in Edmonton will be in the 8 to 14 C range for Thursday to Sunday.

Here’s a timeline of the expected wind speeds:

Here are the rainfall estimates for Thu/Fri: