Lots of snow and some serious cold coming to Edmonton region Wednesday

Edmonton and other parts of northern and central Alberta were placed under snowfall warning on Dec. 17, 2024. (Josh Classen/CTV News Edmonton)

Prepare for a significant dump of heavy snow Wednesday.

An area of low pressure moving in from the west will dump 10 to 15 centimetres of snow on areas from Grande Prairie and Hinton southeast through the Edmonton region and eastern Alberta from Lloydminster to the Medicine Hat region.

That snow will start early Wednesday morning in Edmonton and continue through the day.

Most of the snow will fall in the first half of the day, and it will taper off gradually through the afternoon and early evening.

Both the morning and evening commutes will likely be affected, so give yourself some extra time. Although the wind isn't expected to be much stronger than 15 km/h, blowing snow could be an issue on highways throughout the day.

There's also an Extreme Cold Warning in place for tonight as temperatures slip into the -30 C range and wind chill approaches -40 C in some spots.

The city of Edmonton is not included in that alert, but areas just north and east of the city are.

The coldest temperatures and wind chills are expected late this evening and overnight, with some slight moderation expected in the early-morning hours of Wednesday.