Slight chance of snow in Lethbridge has city crews, tire shops preparing

LETHBRIDGE — While the start to fall has seen above-average temperatures for much of southern Alberta, the first chance of winter is in the forecast for Monday evening, which has many in Lethbridge preparing.

“Now that we have snow in the forecast, we are starting to see people panic a little bit to get their winter tires on,” said Matthew Whittaker, owner of Fountain Tire North.

“Things have been getting a lot busier.”

He says having winter tires on provides more traction in the snow and ice compared to all-season tires.

“If people plan accordingly, like when snow is in the forecast, and they get it done before it snows, it makes it easier for them. It makes it easier for us,” Whittaker said.

“They’re prepared for when the snow does fall, and it makes it a little less stressful on our end.”

With a chance of snow on Monday evening, crews with the City of Lethbridge transportation department are ready to respond.

“We currently have six plows ready,” said Juliane Ruck, transportation operations manager with the city.

“We normally use trucks in the summer for summer operation and we slowly bring the trucks back online and suit them up with plow blades and sanders.”

Ruck says other preparations began in September, including the hiring and training of staff along with taking on inventory of salt and sand.

“If there is snow that starts to fall, we're always plowing our priority routes one, two and three,” Ruck said.

In the meantime, city crews will continue with their other operations.

With overnight temperatures starting to dip below freezing, outreach groups are also preparing to keep the unhoused population warm.

“We see the forecast and we start going through our storage and making sure we find seasonal-appropriate clothing, but of course we are always in need of it to kick off the season,” said Cameron Kissick, chief operations officer with Streets Alive Mission.

Winter jackets, boots, pants and gloves are some of the items in high demand.

Kissick says the fall temperature changes bring their own challenges.

“It might stay warm during the day, but it still gets quite cold at night and, of course, layerable or water-resistant clothing because even though we might get snow, it's not going to stay,” Kissick said.

Another part of this year's preparation for the vulnerable population includes the Lethbridge Shelter expansion.

The new space, which can hold more than 200 individuals, is expected to be open and running by Dec. 1.