Drivers face slippery road conditions east of Edmonton into Saskatchewan

Vehicles travel on snow-covered Highway 16 east of Highway 41 near Vermillion, Alta., on Dec. 8, 2024, at 12:38 p.m. (Credit: Alberta Motor Association)

Freezing rain, snow and plummeting temperatures on Sunday in east-central Alberta are making road conditions slippery.

While Edmonton saw the mercury hover around the freezing point midday Sunday after rain and snow fell most of the morning, drivers on highways east of the Alberta capital are enduring conditions that grow more slick as they travel into Saskatchewan.

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Rain, freezing rain and snow fell on communities along Highway 16 overnight and Sunday morning.

According to the province's 511 Alberta traffic information site over the noon hour, several east-west highways immediately east of Edmonton are mostly snow covered to the Saskatchewan border, including highways 16, 14 and 45.

Road conditions on central Alberta highways during the noon hour on Dec. 8, 2024. (Credit: Alberta 511)Lloydminster is under a winter storm warning, with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) saying five to 10 centimetres of snow is expected to fall on the city that straddles the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan over the day while the temperature drops to -4 C. Rain that turned to snow fell overnight. North Battleford and Saskatoon are also under a winter storm warning, ECCC says. The Saskatchewan cities are expected to receive 10-to-20 centimetres of snow.

Reports on social media said the highway and roads are slippery around Lloydminster and that plows and sanding trucks had been out in places on Highway 16.

The fire department in Elk Point said on social media Saturday a portion of Highway 646 east of the town 175 kilometres northeast of Edmonton had been closed due to "terrible driving conditions" and that more than seven vehicles were in the ditch. That stretch of road between rural roads 44 and 61 is now open and sanded, but the fire department said non-emergency travel is still "strongly discouraged."

In Saskatchewan early Sunday afternoon, the province's highway hotline said it does not recommend travel between Lloydminster and North Battleford on Highway 16, or on roads south to Kerrobert and north to the Meadow Lake area.

South of Edmonton, some highways are covered in snow, according to Alberta 511, including a long stretch of Highway 13 from Buck Lake through Wetaskiwin and Camrose east through Killam and Provost to the Saskatchewan border, and Highway 53 from the Rimbey area east to around Forestburg.

Other major highways east of Red Deer have similar conditions, including Highway 12 from Stettler to the border.

North and northwest of Edmonton, most highways are reported to be covered or partly covered by snow, including to north of Calling Lake, and northwest on Highway 43 to Little Smoky and on Highway 33 north past Swan Hills to Kinuso.