Winter weather is wreaking havoc across Alberta with blowing snow and fluctuating temperatures leading to poor driving conditions.
An Environment Canada snowfall warning was in effect Thursday afternoon for a swath of western Alberta between Edmonton and the Rocky Mountains, in an area where at least two big collisions were reported.
One of those large crashes occurred northwest of Edmonton, on Highway 43 between Whitecourt and Fox Creek.
RCMP said officers were responding to multiple collisions in the north and southbound lanes of the highway near Two Creeks.
Fox Creek RCMP report several semi trucks and other various vehicles are involved and as of noon, the entire roadway was impassable.
A few hours later police said they were slowly making progress with vehicles clearing the road.
Area resident Grant Mott provided a photo to Global News, which showed several tractor-trailers either in the ditch or crashed on the road.
Mott said he came across the scene around 11:30 a.m. and was stuck in the traffic jam for about an hour.
He said eventually a single lane of traffic was able to get past one of the jack-knifed semi trucks and weave around the other vehicles stuck on the road.
Icy road conditions are a significant factor, police said, adding semi drivers need to properly prepare their vehicles for such conditions.
“Take the time to chain up in these conditions, the hills can be quite slippery and there is no chance of stopping,” said Sgt. Brand of the Fox Creek RCMP.
RCMP said one semi driver involved in the collision was also ticketed for following too closely and not driving to the road conditions.
Police added officers on scene said also dealt with distracted drivers on their cell phones as they passed emergency responders, and at least one violation ticket was issued.
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“We will do more if we have to,” Brand said.
Drivers were being asked to avoid that stretch of Highway 43 and find alternative routes.
Further south along the Yellowhead in western Alberta, Evansburg RCMP also responded to multiple collisions along the major highway.
Police said at least one involved a semi truck and several vehicles sliding into the ditches along Highway 16, through to the east side of Gainford.
The highway was very icy and currently both the east and westbound lanes were backed up with only one westbound lane available for traffic flow, RCMP said at around 12:30 p.m.
An update a few hours later said that collision was cleared and traffic was flowing again.
At the same time, RCMP said officers were still investigating several collisions between Evansburg and Gainford, where icy road conditions contributed to a semi truck jack-knifing, another semi sliding off the road, and multiple cars and SUVs sliding into the ditch.
No injuries were reported along the Yellowhead.
Environment Canada said heavy snow with total amounts of 10 to 20 cm is expected Thursday in the foothills and parts of Alberta west of Edmonton.
Heavy snow will continue to fall throughout the day and overnight, before moderating early Friday morning.
Poor travel conditions were expected on Highway 16 and the weather agency said rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult.
Wintery conditions were being reported not just in the foothills, but also further south and towards the Saskatchewan border.
RCMP said officers in Oyen, near Medicine Hat, responded over the noon hour to a serious collision on Highway 41 at Highway 570.
Traffic was being redirected in all directions while emergency workers respond and police investigate. No details on the number of vehicles involved or injuries was available as of publishing.
Environment Canada forecasted blowing snow in that part of the Prairies on Thursday and said gusty winds will dominate the region.
The agency’s significant weather discussion said an area of intense snow could be seen on radar Thursday.
“This ties in with an upper warm front extending from the Pacific east across the Rockies near Hinton, towards Lloydminster. This area will be prime to receive accumulative snow today and tonight, with general amounts of 2-5 cm expected per part period. The only exception to this will be between Hinton and Whitecourt/Edson, where terrain will help to enhance snowfall amounts in this area,” Environment Canada said.
Thursday’s snow precedes a drop in temperature coming for Alberta, as the jet stream will shift farther south — dragging frigid Arctic air along with it.
Edmonton is forecast to reach a high of -21 C by Sunday and a low of -26 that night.
Calgary is also expected to see below-freezing temperatures.
By Saturday night in Lethbridge, the temperature could plunge to -20 C and is expected to remain very cold for several days after.
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