Calgary braces for extreme cold snap after significant early week snowfall

After a mild February with virtually no snowfall and moderate temperatures, Calgary is once again in the middle of a bitter cold snap.

With more than 25 centimetres of snow blanketing most of the city, Calgarians are now faced with temperatures between -23 C and -31 C by Friday morning.

It's the kind of weather event that will drive most people to hunker down indoors as much as possible, but staying warm is a more significant challenge for the city's vulnerable population.

In an effort to keep people warm and safe, the Salvation Army is setting up warming stations at LRT stations across the city. A full schedule of where they will be set up can be found on the Calgary Homeless Foundation website.

The city will also be running emergency shelter shuttles until Saturday. More information on the shuttle program can be found here.

Meanwhile, the Calgary Board of Education says its school bus services will resume on Wednesday, but students and parents should expect delays.

Traffic is still not moving at an average pace as a result of the significant snowfall that began Monday and carried into Tuesday. City crews will continue to clear snow off priority one and two roads until Friday or Saturday.

The extreme cold forced the WinSport ski and snowboard hill to close Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

Calgarians looking to take advantage of the fresh dump of snow at the WinSport ski hill are asked to visit their website to monitor weather updates and lift statuses.