A winter storm has created hazardous conditions on southern Alberta highways and officials are advising motorists to avoid non-essential travel in some areas.
Alberta Transportation closed the Trans-Canada Highway between Calgary and Bassano just before noon to give maintenance crews room to work and officials are maintaining road blocks in the area.
The highway from Calgary to Strathmore was reopened to traffic just before 6:30 p.m. but remains closed from Strathmore to Bassano.
Highway 3, between Taber and Medicine Hat, is also closed until further notice and travel along the highway, west of Taber to Fort Macleod, is not advised.
A semi tractor-trailer unit lost control on Highway 36, south of Taber, and blocked the north and southbound lanes. RCMP say the road will be impassable for several hours while crews work to remove the rig,
Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for the City of Calgary and the agency says residents should prepare for winter conditions.
Okotoks RCMP officers have responded to 13 crashes near the town and say poor road conditions and driver error are to blame for the majority of the collisions.
A school bus was involved in one of the crashes. None of the children on board were hurt but the male driver was taken to hospital as a precaution.
In Calgary, 10 cm of snow is forecast to fall throughout the day and additional trucks and staff are out on the roads to deal with the accumulation.
The mild weather and warm road temperatures should make for an easy clean up, but officials are warning motorists to drive to the conditions.
Calgary police responded to 55 crashes on Monday morning; four involving injuries. The crashes involved a large number of vehicles; including a jack-knifed semi tractor-trailer unit on Deerfoot Trail.
The city says crews are also available to help clean up any debris from damaged trees and officials are reminding people to be on the lookout for hazards.
Medicine Hat is expected to receive up to 25 cm of snow and Cardston and Fort Macleod could see about 20 cm.
Environment Canada says strong winds of 60 km/h, gusting to 90 km/h, are also expected.
CTV Calgary Weather Special Kevin Stanfield says the snow is expected to stop in the city by about 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
Cooler conditions are also on tap for Tuesday but the temperature will climb into the teens for the rest of the work week.
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