Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for parts of western Alberta, with about 10 to 20 centimetres of snow expected.
Global News Morning Calgary’s Jordan Witzel said Calgary can expect about five to 10 centimetres of snow starting Thursday evening.
He added that it will continue overnight before finally tapering off Friday afternoon. Areas outside of the city can expect higher accumulations of snow, he said.
Environment Canada said a strong low-pressure system from the Pacific is the culprit.
Calgarians can expect up to 40 straight hours of snow, according to city officials.
“Because this is going to be such a long snowfall with the accumulation happening very slowly, we’re going to be running our regular crews right through the snow until it stops and then do the cleanup,” city roads manager Bill Biensch said.
“We’ve ensured that we’ve had a full crew availability and we’ve had to call out to fill in some of the holes, but we are ready.”
Biensch said crews will be able to stay on top of snow clearing, but said the fresh snowfall may cause problems for Calgarians as the new snow will cover up icy spots. The city is asking that residents walk and drive with care.
Depending on the accumulation, a snow route parking ban may be put into effect on Sunday. The city said it will make an announcement on that either Friday evening or Saturday morning.