Cochrane RCMP issue warning against highway travel as heavy snow, gusting wind create hazardous highways

Cochrane RCMP issued a warning advising against traveling on highways in the area Tuesday afternoon as winter weather conditions made roads slippery and hazardous.

That announcement came after an earlier tweet that said Highway 1A between Centre Avenue and Gleneagles Drive in Cochrane was closed due to a motor vehicle collision.

Blowing snow that came in thick gusts made driving a challenge in Calgary and surrounding areas Tuesday afternoon.

The City of Calgary's @YYCTransportation Twitter feed reported collisions or incidents at a number of different locations around the city, including southbound Stoney Trail approaching McKnight, another at Stoney and Peigan Trail S.E., on Deerfoot Trail and 17 Ave S.E., on Shaganappi Trail south of Country Hills Blvd. N.W., and on 14 Street and 24 Avenue.  All of them occurred between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

At 3 p.m., Calgary police confirmed they have closed the intersection of Shaganappi and Country Hills N.W. and asked motorists to avoid the area, where there were a number of collisions but no recorded injuries. They said they expected the intersection to be closed for at least two hours.

Police also asked drivers to avoid 14 St. N.W. between 16 Ave. and John Laurie Blvd. due to drifting snow and numerous collisions.

Shortly after noon Tuesday, wind gusts exceeded 80 km/h  on Hwy. 22 at the Lundbreck weather station.

The forecast called for the heaviest snow to end by late Tuesday afternoon, with the possibility of rain early Tuesday evening, followed by light snow Tuesday night with wind gusts of up to 60 km/h and a projected low of -2C.