Winter storm pummels Edmonton, tow bans and travel advisories issued
A winter storm enveloped Edmonton and central Alberta on Monday, combining almost four seasons' worth of weather in one day.
The storm began in the early afternoon by dumping between two to six millimetres of rain that changed to snow before the supper hour as winds gusted up to 58 km/h to create near white-out conditions.
Temperatures plunged from plus 2 degrees Celsius at 11 a.m. to minus 24 with windchill at 7 p.m.
The rain froze as it landed, icing up walks and roadways throughout the city and capital region, evidenced by dozens of crashes.
Edmonton police said there were 190 reported collisions between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., including six that left people injured.
About 40 vehicles ended up in ditches along 23 Avenue in southwest Edmonton. Police asked drivers to avoid both west and eastbound 23 Avenue between 119 Street and Magrath Road until the blockage was cleared. No one was hurt, police said, but several vehicles sustained “minor damage.”
Crews had the hill sanded before noon.
The city’s supervisor of field operations said road maintenance began Sunday night in anticipation of the freezing rain.
“We called in additional staff to get them into sander trucks and try to get some material out there ahead of the freezing rain,” Andrew Grant told CTV News Edmonton.
The strategy is to target top priority roads first – those with higher speeds and volumes of traffic – as well as known problem areas like the river valley, hills and bridge decks.
“With the temperature that is forecasted here over the next 48 hours, it’s absolutely critical our crews get those areas back down to bare pavement and just reduce the risk of any ice formation on those areas.”
“The freezing rain earlier this morning has made city streets extremely slippery,” Edmonton Police Service spokesperson Scott Pattison said.
“If you have to go out this morning, please drive slow and maintain a healthy space between you and the other vehicles on the road.”
Traffic was also redirected outside of St. Albert because of a collision on Villeneuve Road near Range Road 260. Commuters were asked to avoid the area between Ray Gibbon Drive and Range Road 261.
More than 5,500 EPCOR customers in south and west Edmonton were affected by power outages due to trees knocking wires down.
The utility provider said the outages occurred just after 9 a.m. and disrupted service until around noon.
TRAFFIC HAZARD EMERGENCY ALERTS ISSUED
At 4:25 p.m., an Alberta Emergency Alert was updated saying driving conditions throughout Parkland County were "potentially dangerous and very poor."
The alert recommended people restrict travel Monday evening and overnight to "essential travel only."
"Travel is not recommended on roadways in Parkland County, including highways 16, 16A, 43, 44, 770, and 779," the emergency alert read.
"Emergency services and roadway maintenance vehicles are active throughout the County," it added. "Slow down and drive to conditions if you must drive."
After 7 p.m., another Emergency Alert was issued for central Alberta, including along Highway 2 between 41 Avenue SW in Edmonton to around Bowden, Alta. Leduc RCMP issued a tow ban covering that area to just north of Millet, Alta.
"Heavy snow, icy conditions and strong winds causing blowing snow are creating dangerous driving with whiteout conditions," the alert said.
"Area highways and roads may be closed without notice," it added. "Drivers are instructed not to travel in this area.
"Delay all non-essential travel until conditions improve. Use extreme caution when travelling on impacted roads and highways."
INCOMING STORM
A low-pressure weather system is driving the storm. Rain is expected to become snow by Monday afternoon and wind will follow. Temperatures will drop to the -20s and -30s on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“It’s not very often our operations see literally four different seasons in one day, so we’re going to continue to change and adapt to whatever the season of the hour is as the next 24 to 48 hours passes by,” Grant commented.
The bout of freezing rain is one of several the Edmonton region has seen since mid-December, so it’s not the first time this season Grant’s crews have had to change strategies.
“(We’re) using all kinds of tools from ice blades to rock chip to salt to sand, so we’re definitely running through our repertoire of tools this year,” he said.
“It’d be nice to get a little bit of a reprieve from the weather, but Mother Nature doesn’t always see it that way.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.