Foggy start to Tuesday, but road conditions gradually improving

Monday provided a reprieve from precipitation, assisting road crews in central and southern Alberta with removing ice and snow from major thoroughfares.

As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, 511 Alberta was showing the majority of primary and secondary highways were back to dry or partially snow-covered surfaces as compared to mainly icy, and snow-covered conditions 24-hours earlier.

Overnight decoupling of the atmosphere in southern Alberta early Tuesday prompted Environment and Climate Change Canada to issue a fog advisory for the southeast corner of the province, due to “[a]reas of dense fog with near zero visibility.” A good portion of the the TransCanada Highway between Calgary and Medicine Hat was under that advisory.

The national weather agency notes visibility is expected to improve by Tuesday afternoon. A similar overnight setup with a light southwesterly flow aloft combined with a moist air mass could produce patchy fog again on Wednesday morning.

Alberta and British Columbia will see little change over the next few days with daytime highs in Calgary expected to sit slightly below seasonal and lows slightly warmer than average. Cloud cover will continue to inhibit melting from natural surfaces, but roads and sidewalks will likely continue to undergo a mild freeze-thaw cycle making surfaces more slick early in the day and after sunset.

For the latest weather warnings from Environment and Climate Change Canada click here. Driving conditions from 511 Alberta can be found here, or click here for updates from Drive BC.