Calgary police say number of collisions mirrors falling temperatures

Calgary streets were fairly quiet Saturday as the brutal cold snap continued to pitch the city into a deep freeze.

Environment and Climate Change Canada says an extreme cold warning is still in effect for Calgary, with temperatures ranging from -35 C to -45 C and windchill going up to -50 C on Sunday.

It warns that arctic air, combined with strong winds, can lead to frostbite and hypothermia “within minutes” if people don’t take proper precautions while outdoors.

Staff Sgt. Paul Ralstin says from 5 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Sunday there were 33 collisions reported. Of those, four involved injuries.

During the same 12-hour period, there were also nine reported hit-and-runs, including one where someone was injured.

Police say the relatively low number of collisions for a Saturday night suggests people either stayed out of the cold or were driving carefully given the slick road conditions.

At the same time, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) issued a grid alert at around 3:30 p.m. due to the “extreme cold, high demand and low imports.” This was followed by a province-wide push alert by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency just after 6 p.m.

It asked Albertans to reduce their electricity use to prevent rotating outages across the province.

Read More: Alberta grid alert ends, call to action ‘tremendous’

This also comes as officers continue to investigate a deadly Friday night crash where a Jeep navigating a curve in the road slammed into a snowplow.

The incident happened about 11 p.m. along Westwinds Drive near the entrance to the Mcknight-Westwinds LRT station.

The 27-year-old man, behind the wheel, died on the scene. There were no other injuries.