It was a rough morning for commuters in the Edmonton-area, after overnight showers left a layer of ice on roads and sidewalks.
CTV Edmonton Meteorologist Cory Edel said it all started early Friday, when some showers started to develop in the city. Those showers turned to rain in some areas – but the precipitation ended by about 7 a.m.
Police said between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Friday, EPS received reports of one hit and run collision, and one injury collision – but there were 27 collisions reported that resulted in property damage.
EPS also said a section of 17 Street, south of Whitemud Drive had been closed temporarily late Friday morning to allow crews to sand the roadway.
17st south of the Henday is closed - lots of flashing lights and a tow truck down there now #yeg #yegtraffic pic.twitter.com/43qhnvGy9k
— Jeremy Thompson (@JThompsonCTV) December 15, 2017
Stony Plain/Spruce Grove/Enoch RCMP warned drivers to avoid travel if they didn’t have to, saying there were extremely icy conditions on Winterburn Road between secondary highways 627 and 628.
RCMP said they had responded to eight cases of vehicles ending up in ditches Friday morning.
The slick road conditions also caused problems for school buses around the city – a number of school divisions outside of Edmonton said some or all buses were cancelled or delayed due to icy road conditions.
In the city, Edmonton Catholic Schools said the road conditions could impact Kindergarten drop off.
Attention #ECSD Kindergarten Parents: Due to the icy road conditions Kindergarten drop off may be delayed and if the driver is unable to drive down your street you may receive a call to meet your child at a different location. #yegtraffic pic.twitter.com/qwBMCgAphz
— ECSD (@EdmCathSchools) December 15, 2017
On Twitter Friday morning, the word ‘icy’ was trending in the city.
'icy' is now trending in #Edmontonhttps://t.co/vvnb9BH053 pic.twitter.com/MjNledo5ky
— Trendsmap Edmonton (@TrendsEdmonton) December 15, 2017
My morning skate to work! #yeg #becareful pic.twitter.com/M0ghQhfyuX
— Jason Edwards (@jasedwar) December 15, 2017
Andrew Ference posted a video of himself on Instagram skating on an icy city street.
As for the rest of the day, Edel said the forecast is looking up
“As far as the outlook for today, we will see continued clearing with a sunny afternoon and the temperature in the mid-single digits,” Edel said. “The wind will also pick up, with gusts around 50 km/h this afternoon.
“With the wind, warmth and sunny conditions we should see conditions on the roads and sidewalks improve, but with an overnight low of -6 [degrees Celsius], we could see some slick areas Saturday morning.”
Edel said the weekend should be mild, with a slight chance of a rain/snow mix Sunday morning – that is expected to clear Sunday afternoon.
As for the balmy December, Edel said we haven’t seen these weather conditions in the Edmonton-area since 2002.