Motorists were cautioned to stay off roads in southern Alberta Sunday unless absolutely necessary due to extreme blizzard conditions.
At 6:30 p.m. Sunday, AMA Road Reports was reporting primary highways around Lethbridge and Medicine Hat were completely or partially covered with snow or ice.
READ MORE: Southern Alberta under wind and winter storm warnings
Environment Canada continued with a winter storm warning for much of southern Alberta including the city of Lethbridge.
According to the agency, snowfall would continue until Monday morning and accumulation would be up to 40 cm, with higher amounts over terrain in the Crowsnest Pass region and near the Cypress Hills.
Strong winds with gusts would reach as high as 80 km/h creating sudden whiteout conditions Sunday evening for regions south of Red Deer and east of Highway 2, Environment Canada said.
READ MORE: Edmonton and area pounded with snow Saturday, 20-30 cm now expected
Motorists posted photos on social media of the treacherous conditions.
The City of Lethbridge tweeted that school buses would not run, transit service would be reduced to one hour and Access-A-Ride would be operating for essential travel only on Monday.
The University of Lethbridge released a statement that it would be closing its city campus Monday as a result of Sunday’s extreme weather.
“While this closure will impact some students who may have planned to be on campus, this decision should have minimal impact on classes considering this closure occurs during the fall reading week break,” the university statement read.
This closure includes the university Kid’s Campus Daycare.
In addition, Lethbridge College announced it would be moving all classes online on Monday and urged students and employers to avoid coming to campus “unless absolutely necessary.”
“Students can check with their instructors for further questions about Monday’s classes,” a news release stated.
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