CALGARY – It’s only a few days into fall and already Calgarians are preparing for snow this weekend.
CTV Calgary meteorologist Kevin Stanfield's forecast for the next couple of days will see Siberian air swoop on in and settle over us the Calgary area.
"Our temperatures will plummet, with our projected highs substantially below normal with a high-pressure air mass to our north swinging air up against the Rockies, creating upslope flow, which, coupled with cold air, may present some exceptionally high snowfall totals to our south and west," said Stanfield. "Calgary has been bounced back and forth between heavier and lighter projections, and now looks to land somewhere in the middle.
"Snow, at times, will be heavy, especially on Saturday," he added. "Exceeding 20 centimetres of snow isn't out of the question, if this precipitation sets up properly."
The City of Calgary’s current snow and ice clearing budget is $40.4 million. This covers the period between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2019. The city also has a snow reserve fund currently sitting at $12.4 million.
Compared to other Canadian cities, Calgary’s snow budget is substantially lower. The City of Edmonton has set aside an operation budget of $65 million, while Ottawa recently increased its snow maintenance budget to $70.8 million for 2019.
Nonetheless, District Manager for Calgary Roads, Jim Fraser, says the city is ready for this fall's first snowfall.
"Our snow and ice equipment is ready to go," says Fraser. "Currently, right now we've been pretreating some of our known trouble spots, as well as bridge decks with a brine to ensure there are some chlorides out there on the road, and then when the snow does come, we will be using salt as the preferred treatment.
"If we get great accumulation (of snow), we will mex them with pickle, or what we mean is alat and sand, as well," he added.
Fraser says there are 40 trucks that will be immediately on the street, but the city's entire feet of 27 graders, 92 plows and six blowers is ready to roll.
He adds that the city will concentrate on the downtown core, and high traffic corridors first.
That, he explains, means "20,000 vehicles and up. Roads like Crowchild (Trail) and Glenmore (Trail), those are the roads we are going to be clearing first. Then after we will be moving to the collector roads."
While there is no weather warning in place for the City of Calgary at present, Environment Canada has called for a winter storm watch in many regions of southwest Alberta.
Officials are expecting between 15 to 30 cm of accumulation in the region and say highway crews have been working to prepare for the snow event.
Albertans are requested to be ready for winter driving conditions including postponing all non-essential travel, obeying posted speed limits, activating your headlights so you are visible to other drivers and maintain a safe distance from other vehicles on the road.
Drivers are also asked to stay well back from snowplows in order to give them the necessary room they need to work.
Up-to-date information about Alberta highway conditions can be found online or on social media by following @511Alberta.
