CALGARY -- If a drive west is part of your holiday travel plans, you are urged to take extreme caution as Environment Canada has issued a weather warning for a number of regions west and southwest of Calgary.
The agency posted a special weather statement on its website Friday morning for:
According to the statement, those regions are expected to receive 10 to 20 cms of snowfall in the mountainous regions of the Rocky Mountains, but the eastern slopes will experience warm, dry and gusty conditions.
Residents in Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek and those living near Waterton Lakes National Park are also under a wind warning, where gusts of up to 100 km/h are expected until Friday evening. That warning also includes Cardston, Fort Macleod and Magrath.
That isn't the end of Environment Canada's warning either as both Banff and Jasper National Parks remain under a snowfall warning with the snow expected to continue throughout the day on Saturday.
By the evening, residents and visitors in those areas should expect to see between 20 to 30 cm of accumulation.
CTV Calgary meteorologist Kevin Stanfield says it is very important that Albertans and other travellers know what they're getting into on the drive west.
"'Travellers beware' is massive," he says. "People need to be aware that travel plans west will almost CERTAINLY be affected."
He adds despite what Environment Canada has predicted for snowfall amounts, his weather models indicate they are expected to be closer to the higher end of those forecasts.
You can check on the current forecast on the CTV Calgary website or download the CTV Calgary Weather App for up-to-date weather information.