Edmonton forecast to get soaked but a big warm weather change is coming
It’s going to be a wet weekend in Edmonton, but we have to struggle past it for a bit before a nice warm weather change arrives in the city.
Daily Hive chatted with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) scientist Christy Climenhaga on what is behind the anticipated wet weather in the Edmonton region and what to expect.
So get out and enjoy your Friday, Edmonton, because after today the weather is going to get downright soggy and chilly as we head into KDays.
Climenhaga says a trough moving into the province will be driving quite a bit of rainfall across mostly central Alberta, with the heaviest rain in Edmonton and west towards the Alberta elbow.
“You could see some slower-moving storms, a little bit of maybe some upslope flow, with winds pushing up as the elevation, just bringing some higher rainfall amounts. So a very soggy weekend for much of central Alberta, looking like Edmonton is going to have, not too bad of a day today, but then seeing, you know, the risk of some thunderstorms and showers tonight, and then more rain and some thunderstorms again tomorrow,” Climenhaga said.
Jaromir Chalabala/Shutterstock
As for how much rain Edmonton could see over the coming days, Climenhaga says it’ll depend on how the anticipated storms set up and how quickly they will move.
“Because the system has a lot of what we call convection, a lot of thunderstorm activity, you can get very different amounts,” she stated, with models so far pulling in five to 10 millimetres with thunderstorms tonight, another 10 to 20 millimetres tomorrow, and then a bit more on Sunday.
By the end of the weekend, Edmonton could see 20 millimetres and possibly up to 40 millimetres of rainfall, with areas to the west of the city getting heavier rain and likely seeing slightly higher amounts.
A nice weather warm-up is on the way for Edmonton
It has been a relatively cool week across much of Alberta, and that is set to remain the same for Edmonton this weekend with all the showery weather in store.
A recovery is in the cards through next week, climbing back into the mid-20s and even some high-20s; however, Climenhaga says it’s still too early to say exactly how warm, but Edmontonians should expect returning to seasonal if not above-seasonal temperatures by the end of next week.
Environment and Climate Change Canada
As for the short-term outlook, just keep your umbrella handy and stay weather aware.
“If you’re out across much of central Alberta, with the heavy rainfall and with some thunderstorms, just make sure that you have a way to receive watches or warnings in case we do get some severe weather, or those thunderstorms that end up being a little bit stronger, but hopefully you have some time to get outside regardless of the weather,” Climenhaga added.
If summer isn’t your thing, an early look at the extended fall forecast for Alberta may make you pretty pleased.