It looked like the unofficial first day of winter in Calgary on Friday as snow fell throughout the city mid-morning and RCMP warned of dangerous driving conditions in southern Alberta. According to Environment Canada, as of 4 p.m., about three centimetres of snow had fallen at the airport.
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The snow was not significantly affecting road conditions within the city of Calgary, since surfaces were still fairly warm. Calgary police reported a total of 78 collisions between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., just eight more than the Friday before when there was not any snow.
However outside of the city, roads seemed to be more notably impacted. Paramedics had responded to 14 crashes resulting in injuries in the city and surrounding rural areas by 10 a.m.
Emergency crews said one driver, a man in his 80s, was killed in a single-vehicle accident near Priddis, Alta. at Highway 22 and Coalmine Road. STARS Air Ambulance was called, but couldn’t respond due to the weather.
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A woman in her 80s sitting in the front seat was extricated from the car and taken to Foothills hospital in stable condition with soft tissue and arm injuries, EMS said.
The RCMP is investigating the rollover.
In the MD of Rockyview, three men believed to be in their 40s were taken to Foothills hospital after a head-on collision between two trucks hauling gravel on Range Road 11 just north of Highway 566, EMS said. Two of the men were in serious condition and one of the drivers was taken to hospital in potentially life-threatening condition, paramedics said.
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Airdrie RCMP warned of hazardous driving conditions in an afternoon statement, asking people to avoid driving on the icy roadways if possible.
“The ice is creating dangerous conditions for drivers and blowing snow is reducing the visibility,” police said.
RCMP reminded drivers to reduce speeds, wear seatbelts, turn on headlights/tail lights, keep a greater distance between cars and pack warm clothes and blankets in the car in case you get stuck.
“Winter is not quite here yet, but today the weather is making for some winter-like driving conditions in the southern part of Alberta, especially around Airdrie,” police said.
Environment Canada predicted between two and four centimetres of snow by the end of the day, with the temperature hovering around 0 C. That’s well below the seasonal average daytime high of 14 C.
The City of Calgary said crews have been out putting salt brine in “trouble spots” so no ice builds up since Thursday afternoon.
“Now we’re just keeping an eye on the accumulation on the roads,” City of Calgary spokesperson Tara Norton-Mer said. “The roads are quite warm right now so we’re not seeing a lot of accumulation, but that could change and we are ready.”
It’s not unusual to see snow in Calgary in October. According to Environment Canada’s Canadian climate normals from 1981 to 2010, the average snowfall in September is just under four centimetres and October will see an average of 10 centimetres.
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Calgary’s first official snowfall in the latter half of 2015 occurred Sept. 5 and 6 when there was a trace amount of snow both days. The first snowfall in October 2015 was on the third day of the month with three centimetres recorded.
As of 11:30 a.m., there were no weather alerts or warnings issued from Environment Canada anywhere in Alberta.
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With files from Global’s Jodi Hughes
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