Winter weather hits Calgary
Posted Nov 15, 2010 1:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The first blast of winter hit Calgary Monday night.
Meteorologist David Spence says we can expect between five to 10 centimetres of blowing snow.
The city’s plows and sanders are on standby.
“I guess the long and the short of it is, we’re ready to jump into action,” City spokesman Sean Somers tells 660News. “Our crews are loading up the trucks full of sand, salt and we’ll be ready to take on the storm.”
Somers adds they’ll be doing something new this year on the city’s thoroughfares. It’s a technique called echelon plowing, in which a team of plows clear one side of the road in a single sweep.
“It’s going to be a new thing for drivers to get used to and maybe frustrating,” says Somers. “But at the end of the day, it’s the most efficient way for removing snow from the roads when there’s lots of it.”
While City Roads are getting ready for the first storm of the winter, Matt at Kal Tire on Edmonton Trail says they’ve been dealing with the prospect for about a month now.
“Last year, there wasn’t too many people coming in until the snow hit,” Matt tells 660News. “And this year it’s been about four weeks now we’ve been going crazy. We usually go till the end of December with the craziness of this.”
Matt adds most drivers can have their tires changed in one business day, and that more and more drivers are switching to winter tires.
Meanwhile, police say there’s always more crashes on Calgary streets during the first few snowfalls of the winter driving season and want drivers to slow down.
The city says if people spot problem areas during their drive tomorrow, they can report them by calling 311.
