Heavy, wet snow brings dangerous road conditions, power outages ...
'We are going to see a bit of a reprieve after Thursday and into Friday, we'll see those temperatures rebound a bit by the end of the week'
Published Apr 30, 2024 • Last updated 3 minutes ago • 3 minute read
Wet, heavy snow that toppled trees and led to power outages in Calgary Tuesday morning is expected to continue later into the week.
Calgary remains under a special weather statement, while areas west of the city under a snowfall warning brace for accumulations reaching 50 centimetres.
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More than 2,000 Enmax customers were affected at the height of power outages early Tuesday, which were still being fixed throughout the morning.
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As of 11 a.m., 35 customers were still without power with causes under investigation for some, others were listed as caused by “adverse weather conditions.”
“Our team is working to restore power quickly and safely,” said Enmax, also highlighting that more information, including restoration estimates, is available on its website.
In an emailed statement, Enmax said its system can withstand temperature variations and other extreme weather conditions including heavy snowfall. “However, downed branches and trees can pose a risk to power lines and public safety.”
The City of Calgary 311 had 114 service requests for tree concerns as of 11 a.m., up from 22 earlier in the morning.
“It appears that the south half of the city was impacted more than the north,” read a statement from the city of Calgary. “Urban forestry staff are assessing damage to trees and determining which need to be pruned or removed due to safety concerns.”
Officials encouraged residents to report trees that appear damaged on city property by calling 311.
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Meanwhile, a number of highways in the Calgary region mainly south and west of the city were partly or totally covered by snow and ice as of mid-morning Tuesday, with many roads experiencing poor visibility, according to 511 Alberta.
The system that dumped anywhere from five to 15 centimeters of snow overnight tapered off Tuesday morning, with another bout of precipitation expected to move into the Calgary region through the afternoon according to Environment Canada meteorologist Justin Shelley.
“It’s going to bring some mixed precipitation, possibly some more flurries to the region during the day,” he said.
Overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning, more snow will be on the way.
“We’re expecting another significant amount of snowfall to move into the Calgary region specifically, as well as other portions of southwestern Alberta.”
Snowfall amounts from 10 to 15 centimetres are possible by end of Wednesday, with most accumulation over by Thursday, said Shelley.
“We are going to see a bit of a reprieve after Thursday and into Friday, we’ll see those temperatures rebound a bit by the end of the week.”
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The Alberta Motor Association said call volumes are slightly above normal for Calgary as of 9:30 a.m., and volumes are below normal for Lethbridge and Medicine Hat this time of year.
“Calls are the usual mix of boosts and tows, and we’re currently not seeing anything out of the ordinary,” the emailed statement read.
One school south of the city is closed Tuesday. Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School asked students, employees and contractors not to attend its campus “due to continued heavy snow fall and dangerous road conditions surrounding the school,” it said it a written statement issued to the media early in the day.
For areas west and south of Calgary over higher terrain, Shelley said they’ve had reports from places like Turner Valley and Longview of snowfall in excess of 30 centimeters.
“That little bit of extra elevation cools the airmass enough to give that extra amount of snowfall accumulation,” he said.
“This long duration snowfall event could produce total snowfall amounts as high as 30 to 50 cm,” Environment Canada said in its warnings for parts of Kananaskis Country, the Municipal District of Bighorn, Foothills County and the Municipal District of Willow Creek.
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Snow in those regions will become lighter through Wednesday night before tapering off to flurries by Thursday evening, forecasters said.
“Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations,” the warning said. “Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow.”
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Meanwhile, a special weather statement covering the city of Calgary was expanded by Tuesday morning to include regions almost as far north as Edson and stretching down to the U.S. border, between the Rocky Mountains and Highway 2.
“The snow will be heavy and wet, and will be mixed with rain in some areas, so total snowfall accumulations will vary widely,” the weather office said.
The longer-term forecast calls for more spring-like weather by the weekend, with sunshine and temperatures reaching into the double-digits.
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