Josh Classen’s forecast: Sunny, mild today; another big warm up Friday

It's Slightly cooler on Thursday, but still above seasonal with lots of sun.

A slight cool down across the province today as most areas will be about four or five degrees cooler than Wednesday.

For the Edmonton region, that means a high near 0 C this afternoon. So...that’s still well above the average high of -8 C.

An area of low pressure develops in northwestern Alberta, bringing some snow to the High Level and Peace River regions. Closer to Grande Prairie, it’s a chance of rain or freezing rain (depending on surface temperatures).

That precipitation tracks eastward tonight and most (probably all) will stay north of Edmonton.

That said, there’s a chance we’ll see some spotty pockets of showers or freezing drizzle in the area late tonight and/or early Friday morning.

At this point, it doesn’t look like anything too heavy or widespread.

But...if you have travel plans for early Friday (especially north of Edmonton), check road conditions before heading out tomorrow.

Temperatures will climb back to the 5 C range with some sunny breaks Friday afternoon in Edmonton.

However, areas to the south and east of the city will get some showers or wet snow through the afternoon hours Friday.

A brisk northerly flow develops behind the low-pressure system Friday evening and Saturday with gusts around 40-50 km/h in the Edmonton area Friday night and Saturday.

There’s also a decent chance of some flurries or light snow Friday night and Saturday with the potential for 1-3 cm of accumulation by the end of Saturday.

So, the best chances for precipitation in Edmonton and area are overnight tonight and then again Friday night and through the day Saturday.

Temperatures will slip back to the 0 C range for highs Sunday/Monday before climbing once again Tuesday/Wednesday.

We’re still eyeballing the Jan. 18/19 as the potential return of some colder temperatures.

Here’s the forecast for Edmonton and area:

Today - Sunny with a few afternoon clouds.

High: 0

Tonight - Mostly cloudy. 40% chance of spotty freezing drizzle overnight.

9pm: -2

Temperature steady or rising slightly after midnight.

Friday - Cloudy with a 60% chance of freezing rain or a shower in the morning.

Sunny breaks in the afternoon.

8am: 0

Afternoon High: 5

60% chance of flurries in the evening. Becoming gusty in the evening & overnight.

Saturday - Cloudy. 60% chance of snow or rain/snow mix. Gusty.

Morning Low: 1

Afternoon High: 2

Sunday - Mostly cloudy.

Morning Low: -5

Afternoon High: -1

Monday - Partly cloudy.

Morning Low: -8

Afternoon High: -1

Tuesday - Partly cloudy.

Morning Low: -3

Afternoon High: 6