Weather systems bringing snow and freezing rain to much of central and northern Alberta, beginning Thursday in some areas and lasting throughout the weekend, have prompted Environment Canada to issue a special weather statement, with the possibility that warnings will be issued later.
Alberta is expecting wintry weather this weekend, as several waves of active weather approach the province.
Environment Canada issued a special weather statement early Thursday warning of the inclement weather. Later Thursday, winter storm warnings, snowfall and freezing rain warnings were added for some areas of Alberta.
Snow began late Thursday morning in the west central foothills, and through the afternoon it flipped to periods of freezing rain between Edson and Whitecourt.
The Capital Region can expect a dusting of snow by the end of day Thursday, with areas in north central Alberta expecting two to five centimetres.
Heavier snow will fall in the mountain park regions. Banff National Park was put under a snowfall warning shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday.
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Environment Canada said the next low pressure system will be stronger and will spread snow and freezing rain into west-central Alberta by Friday morning.
An area of heavy snow will develop in the foothills and move east, north of Edmonton, towards Cold Lake. Five to 10 centimetres is generally expected, however locally amounts may reach 15 centimetres.
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Meanwhile, south of Edmonton, freezing rain forming in the Rocky Mountain House and Airdrie regions will intensify and move east towards the Lloydminster and Coronation regions. The freezing rain will change to snow behind the system Friday afternoon and end by the evening as the system moves into Saskatchewan.
RCMP Const. Michael Hibbs urged drivers to use extra caution and just slow down.
“Especially if you’re heading out on the highway, the most important thing is reduce your speed when it comes to icy conditions and snow conditions,” Hibbs said.
“If you don’t have to travel, just stay at home and relax.”
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Environment Canada said as details concerning the intensity and track of the systems become clearer, warnings may be issued for heavy snow or freezing rain.
The following areas are included in the special weather statement:
- City of Edmonton – St. Albert – Sherwood Park
- Spruce Grove – Morinville – Mayerthorpe – Evansburg
- Fort Saskatchewan – Vegreville – Redwater – Smoky Lake
- Drayton Valley – Devon – Rimbey – Pigeon Lake
- Leduc – Camrose – Wetaskiwin – Tofield
- Westlock – Barrhead – Athabasca
- Lloydminster – Wainwright – Vermilion – Provost
- Bonnyville – St. Paul – Cold Lake – Lac La Biche
- Whitecourt – Edson – Fox Creek – Swan Hills
- Hinton – Grande Cache
- Grande Prairie – Beaverlodge – Valleyview
- Slave Lake
One of the best ways to track locally hazardous driving conditions is from local viewer reports. The #yegtraffic hashtag is often used by Twitter users reporting traffic issues within Edmonton.
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