Between 20 to 30 centimetres of snow is expected to fall in parts of Alberta on Friday and Saturday, prompting Environment Canada to issue a snowfall warning.
The national weather agency said heavy snow will develop Friday morning over portions of northwestern Alberta. It will slowly spread east and then begin to sink to the south.
Snow is expected to persist through the day before tapering off Saturday morning for northwestern areas.
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The heavy snow is expected to push south throughout Friday and into the overnight period, which Environment Canada said will likely require the snowfall warnings to be expanded.
In Edmonton, five to 10 cm of snow was expected Friday and another few centimetres overnight, according to Global Edmonton weather specialist Mike Sobel. The temperature would also remain in the -20 C range.
Between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday, 183 collisions were reported to police.
- 14 injury collisions
- 18 hit-and-run collisions
- 151 property damage collisions
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Environment Canada said the snow could have a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas.
“Through the mountain parks, especially The Icefields Parkway, Highway 93, local amounts of 40 cm could be seen by Saturday evening,” Environment Canada said in a release.
“Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.”
As of 3:35 p.m. Friday, the warning was in effect for the following regions:
- Drayton Valley – Devon – Rimbey – Pigeon Lake
- Grande Prairie – Beaverlodge – Valleyview
- Hinton – Grande Cache
- Jasper National Park
- Nordegg – Forestry Trunk Road Highway 734
- Peace River – Fairview – High Prairie – Manning
- Rocky Mountain House – Caroline
- Spruce Grove – Morinville – Mayerthorpe – Evansburg
- Whitecourt – Edson – Fox Creek – Swan Hills
- Banff National Park
- Kananaskis – Canmore
- Crowsness Pass – Pincher Creek – Waterton Lakes National Park
Snowfall warnings are issued when significant snowfall is expected.
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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If safe to do so, share your weather photos with us via the Global Edmonton Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can also post updates from your community using the hashtags#yegwx and #abstorm.
Want your weather on the go? Download Global News’ Skytracker weather app for iPhone, iPad and Android.
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