Snowfall warning issued for Edmonton area

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Edmonton, St. Albert and Sherwood Park.

According to Environment Canada, 10 to 20 centimetres of snow are expected to fall in the affected regions, starting Friday and continuing into Saturday.

Brisk winds are also expected to generate blowing snow, resulting in poor visibilty.

The warning was issued Thursday afternoon, although the snowfall was forecasted to begin on Friday, and it did in many areas around the province over the noon hour on Friday.

The slushy snow that’s fallen in the region recently has now turned to ice. The layer of powder that has now covered the slush could make for slick driving conditions. Drivers are being encouraged to give themselves plenty of extra time to reach their destination.

By 4:00 on Friday afternoon, the Alberta Motor Association was reporting fair road conditions in the city, and poor road conditions for areas north of the city like Bon Accord and Gibbons. The wait for a tow from AMA in the Edmonton region was estimated to be between 1.5 and 4 hours.

City crews spent most of Friday afternoon sanding bridges and intersections, holding back the plows until the snow starts to build up. Once the accumulation happens, the city will have about 100 machines out on the roads.

"Our people do work 24/7, rotating shifts so we have shift crews on all the time." Bob Dunford of the City of Edmonton said Friday. "We have a standard call out in place so when we do need additional people we can activate them."

The weather system is expected to move out of the region on Saturday afternoon.