Winter returns to Calgary after warm weekend
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Posted Mar 20, 2024 9:45 am.
Last Updated Mar 20, 2024 9:46 am.
From patios to shovels in a matter of days, Calgary is back under the blanket of winter on Wednesday.
It started with a fake spring on Friday, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
“It was a very warm, ‘fake spring’ as you call it. But, March is one of the snowiest months in Alberta, so it’s not unusual,” ECCC meteorologist Andrew Palmer said of the current conditions.
As of 4 a.m, Palmer says their data showed the airport had seen almost four centimetres of snow overnight, but depending on where you are, you might have been dealing with more.
A lot more of the white stuff is expected to fall over the next 48 hours, and by Friday, Calgary could have over 20 centimetres on the ground. By the end of the weekend, another 10 centimetres is possible, according to the weather agency.
The winter blast is enough to cause treacherous driving conditions, something Chris McGeachy with the city says they are ready to tackle.
“Our focus is on keeping the most Calgarians possible moving safely through our transportation corridor,” McGeachy said. “So, we will remain focused primarily on those major routes.
“We will be applying salt — we’re in that temperature range — to help with the melting, and crews will be focused on Calgary’s busiest routes per our priority-approved snow plan.”
The Calgary Police Service says from midnight to 8 a.m. Wednesday there were 19 non-injury collisions, four injury collisions, zero hit-and-runs, and four non-injury hit-and-runs.
Calgary Transit says snow route bus tours will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, and will likely stay in place until the end of the day on Friday.
The detours mean more walking for transit user as buses don’t go down certain routes or stops where they might get stuck.
There is also chaos on the highways, with several callers to the CityNews Traffic Centre reporting less-than-ideal conditions.
One reported issue is a crash south of Calgary involving a horse trailer and several vehicles.
“I was third behind the tractor trailer and they had horses running around, they had to gather the animals,” one caller said. “The road is pretty bad.”
The northbound lanes of Highway 2 are blocked as people attempt to wrangle the horses south of High River on Highway 2.
Matthew Howell with the RCMP says thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.
“Alberta RCMP want to remind the public to slow down, drive to the conditions, and if you can avoid the roads, avoid them,” he said.
Environment Canada says spring-like temperatures aren’t likely to return for several days.
“We don’t start to see a warm-up to positive temperatures until sometime mid-next week,” Palmer said.
Calgarians CityNews spoke with say they are happy with this dump of snow, as long as it benefits farmers nearby .
Others say that this wasn’t unexpected.
“I prepare for this sort of thing until April, at the earliest,” one Calgarian told said. “I really don’t mind it.”
Stay up to date on the latest road conditions and weather forecast by listening to CityNews660 for updates every 10 minutes together on the ones.