Spring snow chaos brings fallen trees, clogged storm drains to Calgary

It was a rude awakening for some Calgarians on Tuesday morning as the city woke up to piles of snow, broken trees and homes without electricity in the aftermath of the latest spring snowstorm.

Residents reported a number of unexpected power outages in multiple communities through the overnight and into the morning. Some outages beginning as early as 2 a.m., while others popped up closer to 5 a.m.

And thanks to the overnight snow dump, the city saw many fallen trees and broken branches, leaving many homeowners stressed. One resident told CityNews they were up at 5 a.m. knocking snow off their tree so it didn’t snap.

ENMAX warned downed branches and trees can pose a risk to power lines and public safety.

Power was restored to most of the affected communities later in the day and the City says urban forestry staff is out assessing damage to any trees.

“It appears that the south half of the City was impacted more than the north,” reads a statement from the city. “If you see a tree on City property that appears to be damaged, due to the storm or other reasons, please report this by calling 311.”

Freezing temperatures and wet snow also pose a threat to the storm drains. The city says they have seen an increased volume of calls to 311 in areas that have low sun exposure where snow and ice may be slow to melt.

“Our crews are responding on a priority basis, attending first to problems impacting public safety and where excess water may cause property damage,” the city says.

With another 4 to 8 cm of snow expected Tuesday night, and 20 mm of precipitation in total, all eyes are on Friday’s forecasted daytime high of 8 C that will keep the majority of that snow from meaningfully accumulating.