Calgary wakes up to a winter wonderland
Posted Dec 22, 2020 7:02 am.
Last Updated Dec 22, 2020 2:19 pm.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Calgarians woke up Tuesday to a wintry wallop as dozens of centimetres of snow blanketed the city overnight.
The snow, mixed with blowing winds and drifts caused havoc on Calgary’s road heading into the morning commute.
According to police, between 5:00 p.m. Monday and 4:00 a.m. Tuesday, there were 44 non-injury crashes, 10 injury collisions and nine hit-and-runs.
Meteorologist Michael Kuss said as much as 25 centimetres of snow has fallen as of Tuesday morning and is tracking where the storm is headed next.
“This early winter snowstorm continues to march east. We’ve seen as much as 40 centimetres of snow in parts of B.C., we’re in that 15-25 centimetre range around Calgary. As it pulls away, we’ll get some lingering flurries and some strong winds through the afternoon but we are going to see those types of snowfall amounts all the way across the eastern prairies over the next 24 hours.”
Light snow continues to fly and blow in Calgary. Back edge of the precip. reaching Canmore. Could see another 5 cm this morning. @660NEWS #abstorm pic.twitter.com/xrnkyZrbbR
— Michael Kuss (@Kusswx) December 22, 2020
RELATED: Winter storm blowing into Calgary
That snow is expected to stop by Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) describes all roads in the Calgary region as either partially or completely covered in snow.
City road crews are already working hard to clear priority one routes.
“Right now, our crews are focused on the highest volume roads, the Priority 1 routes such as Crowchild Trail,” said Chris McGeachy with the roads department. “You are going to see quite a bit of snow on your commute.”
Good morning, our crews are focused on high volume roads – though lots of snow still expected to fall today. Stay safe out there, and give our equipment plenty of room to work. #yycsnow #yyctraffic pic.twitter.com/Q1Vem69jzT
— YYC Transportation (@yyctransport) December 22, 2020
The Calgary airport said two flights were diverted to Edmonton, while 11 flights were cancelled last night because of the snow and the wind. As of Tuesday morning around 12 flights were cancelled.
For the latest on the snowfall and road conditions, listen to the latest traffic and weather updates every ten minutes on the ones and visit the 660 NEWS Storm Centre.
— Trevor Dawydiuk (@DucklingsDad) December 22, 2020
I’m half dead from shovelling but Fraulein loves a fresh snowfall! pic.twitter.com/CWsStFwPbD
— Kayla Butler (@ButlerKayla) December 22, 2020
Roads are completely snow covered and very icy! Visibility is extremely poor. Expecting 25-30cm of snow! Pics taken by passenger) #yyc #abstorm pic.twitter.com/7Dun9E9Mym
— Inam Jamil (@yycwx_inam) December 22, 2020
Erin Davidson is with the Provincial Transportation Management Centre that runs 5-1-1 in Alberta, and she says the whole southern part of the province is experiencing issues.
“Basically, all the highways from Red Deer right down to the United States border are mostly covered or partly covered in snow. We’re also seeing an increase in some of the wind so snow that is falling is reducing the visibility in some areas.”
“We do have some avalanche control going on more into the mountains. So, we are seeing some avalanche control into Kananaskis and further, if you’re travelling west, we are seeing some avalanche control on the B.C side of the border.”
She says drivers should be ready to see lots of snowplows on the road.
“A lot of snowplow activity which is also visible on the 5-1-1 Alberta map. We’re seeing a lot of snowplows out which we’d also like to remind people that they keep a safe distance from the plow.”
“During the day, it’s not as bad, but if you are experiencing some reduced visibility, make sure you’re giving yourself lots of time to stop.”
