CALGARY – A snowfall warning has been issued for Calgary on Sunday morning as a storm is expected to continue through the day, resulting in accumulations between 15 to 25 centimetres in the city.
Environment Canada issued the advisory at about 4:30 a.m., saying heavy snow is expected to continue in Calgary and will proceed north and northwest through the day.
The agency says the snowfall is expected to stop sometime Monday afternoon.
Drivers in the City of Calgary are advised to adjust driving with the weather as many roads and highways are slippery and difficult to navigate given the conditions.
A number of crashes have also been reported throughout the city, including a five-vehicle crash on Stoney Trail late Saturday evening.
Tara Norton-Merrin, spokesperson for the City of Calgary roads department, says they had lots of warning for this storm last week, so were well prepared with all their equipment to clear roads properly.
"Right now, we have upwards of about 60 pieces of equipment on the road. We've also called in extra crews for tonight and some contractors so we'll have more than that overnight."
Most of the major routes in Calgary are wet and crews are able to use salt to accelerate melting, she says.
"We are asking people to slow down and take their time but they should have a pretty easy drive today."
Norton-Merrin says they are working on a seven-day snow clearing plan, so the focus is on the main routes, those that have 20,000 vehicles or more per day, at this time. Once those are cleared and under control, plows will then move to other roads.
Conditions on highways elsewhere in Alberta aren't much better either, as 511 Alberta reports snowfalls throughout the south.
It also advised drivers to avoid travel on the Trans-Canada Highway in and around Brooks and Medicine Hat on Sunday afternoon as the route, along with several other highways, were in extremely poor condition.
RCMP in the area say due to blowing snow, visibility has dropped to about 100 metres and multiple collisions have occurred as a result.
Highway 1 west of Calgary isn't much better either, as 511 Alberta reported multiple crashes on the highway, including a jack-knifed semi tractor-trailer near Dead Man's Flats that is blocking traffic.
The storm is also causing problems at the Calgary International Airport, where just over a dozen departing flights were cancelled on Sunday morning.
Warnings are also in place for a number of other communities in southern Alberta, but the very southwestern portion of Alberta is expected to get the worst of it, as nearly 100 centimetres of snow is predicted to fall in that area.
