Thanksgiving Weekend: Who'll be gobbling up the sunshine?

Thursday, October 5, 2017, 11:17 AM - With a big travel weekend coming up, Canadians will be keeping a weather eye as they make their plans for the holiday.

Get a first look at your forecast, coast to coast, with The Weather Network meteorologist Brad Rousseau.

KEEP ON TOP OF ACTIVE WEATHER: Visit the Alerts section of the website

Atlantic Canada

• High pressure moves in Saturday behind a fast-moving low
• A few morning showers Saturday for Newfoundland, otherwise sunny skies and mild temperatures across Atlantic Canada
• Generally mild temperatures should prevail through the weekend, with a dominant southerly flow pushing highs into the mid-to-upper teens on Saturday
• Conditions across the region deteriorate overnight Saturday with stormy conditions settling in for Sunday
• Scattered showers Sunday across the Atlantic provinces, with gusty southeasterly to southerly winds
• Showers become more isolated and intermittent for the Maritimes Sunday afternoon
• Highs are expected to be reaching the high teens to low 20s across the Maritimes for Sunday, with Newfoundland staying in the mid-teens
• High pressure redevelops Monday in the wake of the low, but the forecast for Monday is tricky
• Fair conditions are likely across the Atlantic provinces for Monday, however, Tropical Storm Nate may impact the forecast
• Current model guidance suggests remnants of this system may impact parts of the Maritimes late Monday afternoon into the evening hours
• Monday afternoon highs across the Maritimes remain into the high teens to low 20s, and this warmth will also push into Newfoundland

Quebec and Ontario

• Strong low pressure system moves into Ontario on Saturday, spreading rain, strong winds, and possibly thunderstorms across the south
• Note that southern Ontario will remain mostly dry through the afternoon. It's not until the late afternoon through the evening hours that a line of showers, possibly even a thunderstorm or two, pushes through along with a passing cold front
• Gusty winds accompany the strong low, with gusts anywhere from 50-70 km/h. Winds will be stronger near the lakes where some gusts near 80 km/h are possible as well
• The one consolation for Ontario is that temperatures are expected to continue to run above seasonal, with temperatures getting into the mid-teens and into the high teens to mid-20s for southern portions
• Mild with increasing cloud cover for southern Quebec on Saturday. Showers reach Montreal through the afternoon
• Showers clear on Sunday, west to east, with fair conditions expected for southern Ontario in the morning and through southern Quebec by noon
• Most of northwestern Ontario on Sunday will have mainly dry conditions, but gusty westerly winds will spread across the region, with a strong area of low pressure tracking through Manitoba
• Monday's forecast depends on the next tropical system Nate
• Nate is expected to make landfall along the Gulf shores, somewhere between Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle, and then push northward across the eastern U.S.
• Nate's remnants are forecast to push into the northeastern U.S. and into eastern portions of the Great Lakes Basin through the day Monday
• The uncertainty now lies in how far west the moisture from Nate can reach. The Euro and GFS (two main global models) are showing two different scenarios
• The Euro models pulls Nate's moisture much farther west, with showers spreading across much of southern Ontario through the day and into southern Quebec late day into Monday evening. This trend also favours slightly cooler temperatures, with highs into the mid to high teens
• The GFS solution is a little farther east with Nate's remnants bringing the chance for a few showers across eastern Ontario right along the international border, and then into the Eastern Townships through the evening hours. This trend clearly favours a much nicer day across the area, with afternoon highs into the mid 20s
• We expect Nate will follow along the lines of the GFS trend, but with the tropical influence across southern Ontario leading to a more unstable airmass. Some pop up afternoon showers may be possible mainly through the afternoon
• Monday across northwestern Ontario will continue, with breezy westerly winds and some showers for far northern regions

Prairies

• Unsettled conditions prevail through much of the long weekend
• A broad area of low pressure develops over the central Prairies on Saturday
• This low brings very spotty showers to most of Alberta, but looking like more widespread across northern parts of Alberta through the day. Across Saskatchewan much the same, with very spotty showers for much of the province and more widespread showers for northern sections. Across both provinces, gusty northwesterly winds will be in place, with gusts near 60-80 km/h possible
• Across Manitoba on Saturday, showers are expected to be a little more widespread as a cold front associated with the low pushes through. But across the southern portions, mainly the Trans-Canada Highway corridor, shower activity is expected to be more spotty and isolated. Gusty westerly winds will also spread across the province
• Some mixed precipitation, with higher elevation snow expected to spread across west-central portions of Alberta, this includes Edmonton to Calgary Saturday evening and overnight
• Areas from Rocky Mountain House to Grand Prairie and westward will likely have snow overtake the areas through Saturday night where some light accumulation is expected. Initial numbers show around 2-6 cm possible by Sunday morning
• Sunday the low shifts east slightly, with continued spotty showers for much of the Prairies and steadier rain for central and northern Manitoba
• Across Alberta Sunday morning, scattered mixed precipitation is expected, with mainly snow continuing for higher elevations to the west of the QEII corridor. Calgary will see a rain-snow mix, but western portions of the city into the Springbank area may see snow through the morning hours, with trace amounts to maybe a couple centimeters possible
• Through mid-Sunday morning to midday, any mixing will change over to just some isolated showers across southern and southwestern portions of Alberta, with mixed precipitation or just snow for higher terrain along and west of the Hwy 22 corridor
• Gusty northwesterly winds will continue across the Prairies through Sunday, with gusts anywhere from 50-70 km/h possible
• Monday sees a weak area of high pressure spreading into Alberta and Saskatchewan, which will settle things down and even bring a mix of sun and cloud
• The low will remain in place for Manitoba Monday, which will continue to bring unsettled conditions to central and northern parts, with showers and a mix of rain and snow for northern sections. Southern portions of the province, including the QEII corridor, will be clear of the low, with fair and breezy conditions

British Columbia

• A Pacific system that moves in Friday will linger Saturday, bringing scattered showers across much of the province, with high elevation snow in the east
• Heaviest snow is expected Friday night through Saturday morning, with some light snow persisting through the day -- again, at higher elevations
• Snow will make travel difficult along mountain passes through the Rockies
• Showers taper off Saturday afternoon for the Lower Mainland, though spotty showers are likely to continue for the Fraser Valley
• Across the Interior and eastern portions of the province, showers and high elevation snow will continue through Saturday night. Again, if travelling through eastern mountain passes, expect to run into accumulating snowfall
• Other than a few spotty showers across eastern portions of the province Sunday, both Sunday and Monday will see fair conditions, with mainly sunny skies as an area of high pressure settles in
• Toward Prince Rupert and Terrace, however, the next Pacific system will start to push in Sunday night through Monday, with showers across the region

Stay tuned to The Weather Network and theweathernetwork.com for updates as we approach the holiday long weekend.

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