‘Chaos’: Calgary airport delays, massive QEII pileup due to winter storm

Blowing snow and poor road conditions caused travel chaos in Calgary and the surrounding area on Wednesday, including at the airport.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued a blowing snow advisory for the city with hazardous conditions reported on highways across southern Alberta.

Calgary police and RCMP are asking motorists not to travel due to the winter storm conditions. They add that many collisions and road closures are in effect.

This is an Alberta Emergency Alert. 511 Alberta has issued a hazardous road conditions alert.

This alert is in effect for areas north and east of Calgary, as far north as Olds and as far east as Youngstown (see attached map).

Severe winter weather conditions in south central… pic.twitter.com/ydaWBZbbri

— Alberta Emergency Alert (@AB_EmergAlert) December 17, 2025

Highway closures

Northbound and southbound sections of the QEII Highway were closed between Red Deer and Calgary throughout the afternoon.

Multiple collisions are reported along the highway and RCMP spokesperson Gina Slaney says there were about 80 to 100 vehicles backed up between Calgary and Airdrie due to several crashes in the area, including two jacknifed tractor-trailers.

“From Red Deer down it’s very, very treacherous,” said Slaney. “We just have so many vehicles, we just can’t tend to them all.”

Closures between Calgary and Airdrie were in place for hours. Northbound Deerfoot Trail at Stoney Trail reopened around 4 p.m. and at least one southbound lane was open through Airdrie by 5:30 p.m.

Slaney says shuttle buses are being called in to help transport any motorists stuck on the highway.

Okotoks RCMP are saying conditions are the same south of the city, calling them “treacherous.” Officers are reportedly responding to numerous conditions.

Calgary airport delays

Calgary airport temporarily suspended all flights in the early afternoon due to the heavy snow and reduced visibility.

An airport spokesperson tells CityNews the suspension is expected to lift at 2:30 p.m. on at least one runway.

“In a winter storm we clear the runways, taxiways and aprons of snow and ice to ensure aircraft can land, take-off, and taxi safely,” says the airport. “Periodically, all paved surfaces need to be shut down for snowplows, sweepers and sanders to clear the snow.”

Travellers are being asked to check with their airline to see if their flight is on time.

Blowing snow, wind to taper off by evening

660 NewsRadio meteorologist Kevin Stanfield says the poor conditions are a result of the snow and wind gusts of up to 90 km/h.

“But, by 3 p.m. we’re expecting those to rapidly start fading down, and by about 6 p.m. we’re closer to 30 km/h,” he explained. “Once again, this will be accompanied by snow through the early afternoon as well, with four to eight centimetres set to fall by the time the system ends.”

If driving, drive for the weather, turn on your lights, slow down, and maintain a safe following distance.

Temperatures are also expected to fall; -24 C for Wednesday afternoon, – 18 C with the windchill on Thursday morning.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are set to hit lows between -13 C and – 28 C.

Blizzard hammers rest of prairie provinces

The blizzard conditions weren’t just wreaking havoc in Southern Alberta. Airports in Regina, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg are all reporting flight delays.

In Saskatchewan, a school board for the Saskatoon area declared a snow day and evening events, including Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League games, were cancelled.

Moose Jaw suspended transit service and Regina waste pickup was stopped for the day.

There have also been multiple highway closures in southwest Manitoba

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