The Edmonton Emergency Relief Services Society has put out a desperate plea for warm winter clothing, as a blanket of summer snow hit the city.
Snow started moving into the Edmonton area on Wednesday, with about five centimetres of accumulated snow on the ground by Thursday morning. Some areas outside the city received upwards of eight centimetres of snow, according to Global Edmonton’s chief meteorologist Jesse Beyer.
Staff at the EERSS said they have been flooded with calls from other agencies to send them warm winter clothing. However, the agency said it doesn’t have enough supply in its clothing bank.
“We don’t have that much, we only have so little so we had to pull from our thrift store everything that we have towards our clothing bank to serve those clients,” EERSS partnership liaison Dalia Abdellatif said.
“This year, the winter came really early so nobody was prepared, nobody even started gathering their winter items… Usually people start donating in the fall so they start collecting all their winter items that they don’t need and just kind of drop it off.”
The EERSS works with 32 other agencies to provide access to basic necessities for the city’s working poor and homeless.
Watch below: Edmontonians had to dig out their winter gear on Thursday morning. The early snow fall was a bit of a shock to the system, especially for the city’s most vulnerable. Julia Wong reports on the need for warm clothing donations.
The agency is looking for winter clothing for adults and kids, including hats, gloves, coats, boots, sweatpants and blankets. Donations can be dropped off at the agency’s downtown location at 10255 – 104 St. They are open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.
Beyer said Edmonton and surrounding areas will see flurries continue through the day Thursday, with warmer temperatures around 5 C or 6 C and a bit of sun expected on Friday.
However, don’t get out of “snow-mode” just yet, Beyer warned. A few showers are possible late in the day on Friday, with another round of snow possible through central Alberta on Saturday. Beyer said a few more centimetres of snow is possible through the weekend.
Watch below: It’s technically still summer but the weather says otherwise. The September snowfall has prompted a call for clothing donations for Edmonton’s less fortunate. Phil Darlington has more.
A special weather statement warning of snow in Edmonton and surrounding areas earlier this week has since been dropped by Environment Canada. A snowfall warning remained in place on Thursday morning for both Banff and Jasper national parks.
Warmer temperatures over 10 C are expected by next week, Beyer added.
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