Multiple crashes on Calgary roads as weather takes a turn
Upward of five centimetres of snow fell in Calgary early Friday morning and officials said at that time that conditions were good, but the situation deteriorated later on Friday, leading to plenty of crashes and road closures.
Calgary police told CTV News that between midnight and 8:30 a.m., they were called to 24 crashes (five that involved injuries and 19 that did not) as well as four hit-and-runs. Between 8:30 and noon, those statistics jumped to 63 crashes, which included five injury-related incidents.
One of those incidents caused a major back-up on Calgary's ring road, police say.
It's not known if there are any injuries involved in that crash, but the city and pollice say the scene was cleared at just after 1 p.m.
By the next update from police, the total number of crashes had climbed to more than 100.
The City of Calgary was working to keep up with the white stuff coming down.
"Our crews have been out responding since it started last night. They've done a great job. With the breaks in the snow, it's been nice. We've been able to get into some of the secondary routes as well as taking care of the major routes," said Chris Hewitt, manager of mobility maintenance for the city.
In the meantime, conditions outside the city of Calgary weren't much better.
RCMP attended the scene of a serious crash on the QEII Highway near the Carstairs exit.
Multiple vehicles - up to 30 - were involved in that incident, which brought the highway to a halt for hours. One person was injured.
City streets and highways surrounding Calgary continued to be treacherous in many spots Friday night.
The QEII north of Calgary closed again.
Airdrie RCMP and other emergency crews responded to the QEII at Township Road 285 near Crossfield just before 7 p.m.
The northbound lanes were blocked off because of a multi-vehicle collision.
RCMP said a semi truck jackknifed and five other vehicles were involved, but no serious injuries were reported.
511 Alberta said that stretch of highway remained covered with snow in some sections, with blowing snow, ice and slush.
Visibility was described as "fair."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | U.S. President Joe Biden touches down in Ottawa
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.

Trudeau, Biden could agree to end 'loophole' in Safe Third Country Agreement: CP source
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
Eastern Ont. mayor wants more help from feds to manage influx of asylum seekers, supports STCA renegotiation
As the federal government looks to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., an eastern Ontario mayor says his city needs more help from Ottawa to deal with the influx of asylum seekers arriving through irregular crossings like Roxham Road.
Opposition parties affirm call for interference inquiry, amid questions over MP Han Dong
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
'Scream as loud as you can': 5 boys rescued from NYC tunnel
Five mischievous boys had to be rescued after they crawled through a storm drain tunnel in New York City and got lost, authorities said.
Make sure to check your grocery bill otherwise you may pay more: Survey
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
Asteroid to hurtle past Earth closer than the moon this weekend
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
Number of Canadians receiving EI at record lows, down 44 per cent from last year: StatCan
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Indigenous sisters developing video games to revitalize Mohawk language
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.