Edmonton weather: 'Tis the day before Christmas but weather doesn't care

It is -18C on Saturday morning at the weather station in Edmonton Blatchford, with 9 km/h winds from the south, southwest and a wind chill of -24.

It’s the day before Christmas when snow swirls around all our houses as if gnomes are up to mischief! Icicles hang from roofs and noses. St. Nick and his reindeer, all still dozing! Just a few hours away, the team will line up to fly. Deliver gifts through excitement on high!

A Visit from St. Nicholas the 1823 poem is fun to go on for the weather and such. Here in Edmonton, forecasters say we will indeed see excitement, with a few inches of fresh material accumulating by midnight. The city is finally out of the extreme cold, with daily highs in the -14C range all weekend. Boxing Day we jump to -8 C.

But the communities north and east of Edmonton aren’t so lucky. An extreme cold warning remains in place for the High Level area and a snowfall warning has been issued for the Peace River, Slave Lake and Bonnyville areas.

Morning snow near the Peace River is expected to spread east towards Slave Lake by the afternoon. It will reach the Cold Lake area tonight. Total snowfall amounts of 10 cm to 15 cm are forecast for the regions. This snow should gradually come to an end by Sunday morning.

Chaos at airports across the country also continues, with winter storms in Vancouver and Toronto being the epicenters of the delays. Edmonton International Airport recommends travelers to check the status of their departing flights before heading to the airport.

Today’s forecast

Today: Cloudy with a 30% chance of snow flurry. Snow periods begin in the late afternoon. Wind speed up to 15 km/h. High -14 C. Wind chill near minus 26.

This evening: Periods of snow ending after midnight, then partly cloudy. Accumulation about 2 cm. Wind speed up to 15 km/h. Low -20 C. Wind chill minus 20 tonight and minus 27 overnight.

Morning: Mostly cloudy with winds up to 15 km/h. High -15 C. Wind chill near minus 24.

Sunrise: 8:50 a.m

Sunset: 4:18 p.m

Normal:

Maximum: -7c

Minimum: -15c

Yesterday

Maximum: -19c

Minimum: -26.6C

Rainfall: 0.0mm

On This Day (1996-2020)

Highest temperature: 9.9 C a 1999

Lowest temperature: -29 C a 1996

📸 Eye on Edmonton

This section is dedicated to some of the great and interesting photos taken by Postmedia photographers while out and about in the city.

A sexy Grinch looks at passers-by from the window display at Nightshade Corsets, 8128 Gateway Blvd., Friday, December 23, 2022. Photo by David Bloom Photo by David Bloom /David Bloom/Post Media

Mitch with Men in Kilts clears packed snow from a sidewalk along Whyte Avenue on Friday December 23, 2022. Greg Southam-Postmedia Photo by Greg Southam /Gregory Southam

Edmonton City crews flood Hawrelak Park pond on Friday, December 23, 2022 in preparation for ice skaters. Photo by David Bloom Photo by David Bloom /David Bloom/Post Media

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