Josh Classen’s forecast: Wind and snow storm ushers in a deep cold spell

Edmonton is under a snow squall warning as of 9 a.m. as well as a wind warning. Snow squalls are expected in the area later today.

Snowfall totals aren’t expected to be overly significant (1 to 5 cm), but the combo of snow AND some powerful wind will create significant visibility problems, particularly this afternoon and evening in the Edmonton region.

Snow squalls are brief, localized bouts of blizzard-like conditions.

Areas to the north and northwest of Edmonton will see the risk of those conditions a little earlier in the day today.

Anyone with travel plans should check road and weather conditions for their entire route before heading out.

We have a powerful cold front slashing across the province moving north to south and that’s what will generate the precipitation and gusty wind.

Wind speeds should start to pick up mid-morning in the Edmonton area and we’re anticipating the strongest wind speeds will be in the afternoon and early evening.

First, NW wind 20-30 km/h with gusts in the 50-60 km/h range for the late morning hours. Then, 30-40 km/h sustained wind speeds with gusts in the 60 to 80 km/h range are likely later in the day.

If you have any loose objects outdoors (patio furniture, etc), secure those items to make sure they don’t become flying projectiles later today.

Wind speeds back off overnight and the snow should be out of the Edmonton region by late this evening.

Elsewhere, we have a series of weather alerts in effect this morning:

1. Snowfall warning for Fort McMurray and High Level: 15 to 25 cm of snow by tonight.

2. Freezing rain warning for Cold Lake/St Paul/Lac La Biche areas: This should end by late this morning as the rain transitions to snow.

But, there’s a high risk that we’ll have a layer of ice underneath a few centimetres of snow by this evening.

3. Wind warning for the Peace Country, Slave Lake/Athabasca, Whitecourt, Edson, Edmonton, Lloydminster, Red Deer areas and most of southern Alberta: Gusts in the 70 to 90 km/h range are expected (earlier in the day for areas further north and later in the day for areas further south).

4. Snow squall Watch for Edmonton and surrounding areas, Camrose/Rimbey, Athabasca, Whitecourt, Edson, Hinton, Grande Prairie areas: Brief, intense periods of blowing snow with blizzard-like conditions are possible.

This watch may be upgraded to a warning for a few areas as the day progresses and the storm develops.

UPDATE AT 10:30 A.M.: Snow squall warning ENDED for the city of Edmonton. Wind warning remains in effect.

After the storm, we plunge back into a deep freeze over the next few days.

Colder air is dropping in behind this cold front and for Edmonton, temperatures will start to tumble this afternoon. (Although we’ll remain above average for today.)

We’ll be in the -10 C range Friday and daytime highs plummet to the -20 C range for the weekend (with morning lows in the -25 to -30 C range).

Temperatures will start to climb on Monday and we should be back to around the freezing mark by Tuesday.

So, it’ll be a relatively short-lived cold spell with the two coldest days coming this weekend.

Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area:

Today - Cloudy & windy. Rain/snow mix this morning. Periods of snow this afternoon.

Wind becoming NW 30-40 with gusts in the 60-80 km/h range midday and this afternoon.

Snow squalls possible and a wind warning in effect.

High: 3

Tonight - Snow ending late this evening. Gusts in the 50-70 km/h range this evening, easing overnight.

9pm: -3

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

Light wind in the morning, becoming NW 20 gusting to 40 in the afternoon and evening.

Morning Low: -10

Afternoon High: -8

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