As night descended on the city of Calgary Monday, the highways around the metropolis found themselves under siege by less-than-ideal weather conditions. The blowing snow created hazardous visibility along sections of Highway 22 to the south of the neighbouring town of Cochrane, as well as the Trans-Canada Highway to the city’s west.
Not far east of Calgary, a semi-trailer skidded into a jackknife on Highway 564 near Delacour, around 8 p.m. This obstruction caused all lanes of traffic to halt until the necessary tow equipment could be dispatched to the scene. AMA, the roadside assistance service, noted that extensive waits were to be expected for any towing or winching in Calgary, whilst those in Red Deer could anticipate a marginally shorter delay of eight hours.
According to traffic reports, the roads were partially obscured by a blend of snow and ice west of the city, mirroring the conditions on both the northern and southern sections of Highway 2 adjacent to the city, where visibility was fair at best. Whilst conditions to the east of the city on the Trans-Canada to Strathmore were better, they rapidly declined thereafter.
Calgarians had woken Monday to a chilling drizzle as temperatures began their chilling plunge, a precursor to a snowstorm that had been forecasted by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The agency anticipated that snowfall throughout central and southern regions of Alberta could culminate in accumulations reaching heights of 10 to 15 centimeters. The snowfall, it warned, could also taper along with the rise in the temperature, resulting in fluctuating snow levels as patches of snow began to melt upon contact with the warmth of the ground.
Undoubtedly, Monday proved to be a challenging day on the roads of Calgary. Multiple car accidents peppered the city’s surface, resulting in several closures as roads across different city quadrants were deemed too treacherous to traverse until the dispatch of sanders. City police have documented responses to 122 non-injury collisions and 21 involving injuries in a span of just five hours. One individual even sustained a broken leg.
Despite this, the spirit of Calgary’s organizations have risen to the challenge presented by the snowstorm. Teams from the City of Calgary have striven tirelessly to combat the dangerous road conditions, applying anti-icing agents to high-risk zones such as bridge decks, whilst ensuring the maintenance of safe conditions on the city’s busiest routes, such as Crowchild Trail, Glenmore Trail and Memorial Drive.
The sudden shift in weather had also proven to be quite fruitful for some local businesses. Amongst these was Oakridge Automotive, who reported that calls from customers wanting to switch over to winter tires have been ceaseless. “Today has been super crazy,” Service Manager Terry Potter described the day’s frenzy, adding that they had received roughly 15 calls in just one day. Potter further stated that the demand has resulted in an overflow of business that they couldn’t manage until mid-November.
All in all, Monday proved to be a testing time as weather conditions worsened. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, the city reminded eager travellers to suit up for the cold, preparing themselves for the winter weather, and above all, to remain patient, patient on the roads and patient towards one another.
