A spring snowstorm brought winter conditions back for Calgary drivers on Thursday morning. (City of Calgary – image credit)
A spring snowstorm plunged Calgary back into winter driving conditions on Thursday, with Environment and Climate Change Canada expecting total accumulations of 15 to 30 centimetres.
“Poor visibility due to blowing snow is occurring in some areas and will continue until mid-morning,” the agency said in its yellow-level snowfall warning for the city.
Yellow- and orange-level snowfall warnings are also in effect for much of southern Alberta.
Between midnight and 4 p.m., there were 150 collisions, including 11 that resulted in injuries, police reported.
Chris McGeachy, spokesperson for the city’s roads department, says crews will focus on plowing and putting down traction on major routes throughout the day.
“Those are routes that carry over 20,000 daily trips … like Crowchild Trail, Glenmore Trail, Memorial Drive. And then we’ll begin working down our priority list,” he told the CBC Radio’s Calgary Eyeopener.
“The major routes are going to be a safe bet. But it is going to be slow going.”
Calgary Transit has put all of its snow detour routes into effect and is asking riders to check if their route is affected.
“We are working hard to get you to your destination safely, so please be patient and give yourself extra travel time,” Calgary Transit said on its website.
RCMP say road conditions are poor on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway between Airdrie and Calgary, and that they have responded to multiple vehicles in the ditch.
There was also a pileup collision on Highway 2 just north of Highway 540 and south of High River. RCMP said southbound lanes were closed as emergency crews responded.
The storm caused some flight delays and cancellations at the Calgary International Airport as well.
“Some airlines have pre‑cancelled a small number of flights in advance of the snow, and travellers are encouraged to check directly with their airline for the most up‑to‑date flight information,” said spokesperson Mackenzie Murphy in an email to Radio-Canada.
With the forecast calling for temperatures into the double digits over the weekend, McGeachy said he doesn’t expect the recent snowfall will interfere with the start of this year’s street sweeping, scheduled for Monday.
Heavier snowfall east of Calgary
A big swath of the province to the east of Calgary to the Saskatchewan border is under an orange-level snowfall warning, with total amounts of 25 to 40 centimetres expected in that region.
“Strong northwest winds are causing poor visibility in blowing snow. The winds are also causing snow drifts in a number of places, including the Trans-Canada Highway near Gleichen,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada.
There are reports from Gleichen of snow drifts as high as one metre.
Highway 1 just east of Bassano was closed for several hours on Thursday morning because of heavy smoke from a semi-trailer on fire in the eastbound lane, RCMP said. Traffic was diverted at range roads 184 and 175.