Freezing rain and snow blanketed much of Alberta overnight, leaving highways icy and visibility poor.
On Friday morning, freezing rain warnings were in effect for parts of central Alberta, including near Rocky Mountain House, Red Deer, Ponoka, Stettler, Hanna and Drumheller. By 2 p.m., all of the freezing warnings had been dropped.
Environment Canada said a band of freezing rain over central Alberta will continue to move east through the day, and should let up by the afternoon.
Watch below: Here’s Mike Sobel’s Friday, Nov. 2, 2018 early morning weather forecast for Edmonton, Alberta and the surrounding area.
“As the temperatures warm to just above the freezing mark in most of central Alberta, the freezing rain is expected to just become rain this afternoon,” Global Calgary weather specialist Gemma Lynn said.
Both inside and outside Edmonton, roads and highways were slippery Friday as the temperature hovered around the freezing mark.
Traffic maps were awash in a sea of orange and red, with much of the city stuck in gridlock.
Anthony Henday Drive was more of a parking lot than a ring road, where traffic slowed to a 20 km/h crawl.
As of 3 p.m., the City of Edmonton had 70 pieces of equipment – including plows, graders, trucks sidewalk plows and loaders – on the street.
Spokesperson Catherine Kuehne also said the city prepped for the snowfall by applying salt at intersections and the on and off ramps overnight. At noon, they started using the anti-icer to de-ice the 2018-19 pilot project roads.
She also said the city crews would be doubling up shifts to prepare for the drive home.
“We encourage citizens to be help keep our roads safe by driving to conditions: give each other room to stop, travel and work,” she said.
It isn’t the first snowfall of the season — in fact, Alberta has experienced several snowfalls since the beginning of September. However, the poor road conditions caught some drivers off guard.
READ MORE: Say it ain’t snow! Northern Alberta wakes up to winter weather
Edmonton police said between 5:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. there had been 206 collisions, including 14 hit and runs, 12 injury collisions and 180 property damage collisions.
According to the city, over 240 collisions happened on Nov. 1, 2017, the first day of snow last year. According to Kuehne, the cause of almost 43 per cent of those collisions was following too closely.
Heavy fog surrounded the Calgary region, however as of Friday morning the road conditions were OK. Some precipitation was expected later in the day.
Calgary’s temperature at 11:30 a.m. sat at 0 C with light drizzle. Lynn said the weather in Calgary was expected to rebound on Saturday with a high of 10 C and a mix of sun and cloud.
Freezing rain warnings are issued when rain falling in sub-zero temperatures creates ice build-up and icy surfaces. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery.
READ MORE: More fall snow makes tough Alberta harvest season tougher: ‘It’s depressing. It’s stressful’
Drivers are cautioned to slow down, watch for taillights ahead and maintain a safe following distance.
Meanwhile in southwestern Alberta, wind warnings were issued for Cardston, Fort Macleod, Magrath, Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek and Waterton Lakes National Park.
Waterton has reported peak wind gusts of 91km/hr before noon. Strong west winds were expected in southwestern Alberta until mid-afternoon, before ease in the evening.
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.
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.
– With files from Kirby Bourne, 630 CHED
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