Light snowfall made for a slow drive to work for thousands of Calgary drivers on Thursday morning.
The snowfall began Wednesday evening and continued on and off overnight.
Snowfall is expected to be so significant in the next few days that Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Calgary.
The agency anticipates total snowfall accumulations of 15 to 25 centimetres by Saturday morning.
Under the City of Calgary’s Snow and Ice Control program (SNIC) crews sand, salt and plow city streets that receive the highest traffic, moving on to lower-priority roads once those are clear.
The City of Calgary’s annual snow and ice-control budget is $38 million.
On Oct. 2, Anna Melnick with the City of Calgary told Global News they had “approximately $10 million left for this season,” which is expected to get drivers through until the end of December.
“If we need to we have a reserve fund of about $15 million,” she added.
In the meantime, Calgarians are being warned to adjust their driving with the changing road conditions.
“People don’t adjust their speed or their following distance, so they drive like the road is dry,” Ron Wilson with the Alberta Motor Association said. “You have to drive slower, you have to give more space.”
The slick and snowy roads are thought to be contributing factors in a number of collisions throughout the city. According to Calgary police, 17 collisions were reported between midnight and 8 a.m., including three with injuries.
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