Hundreds of crashes snarl Calgary streets after heavy snow wallops city

Heavy snow has contributed to hundreds of crashes around Calgary and led to the issuing of travel advisories across southern Alberta.

Between 6 a.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday, police say winter weather factored into 171 non-injury collisions in Calgary.

Thirteen people were involved in injury-related collisions as a result of the crashes during that period.

As the snow continued to pile up on Sunday, there were 166 non-injury and 23 injury collisions from just past midnight Sunday morning until 5 a.m. Monday morning.

Police say there were 33 hit-and-run accidents.

However, police said, despite the large figures, collisions frequently occur the day after a large snowfall.

"It's a typical [number of collisions] for a day after a larger snowfall and during snowfall, given my experience," said Paul Teworte with Calgary police. 

The biggest crash occurred at Beddington Trail and Deerfoot Trail, where 16 vehicles were involved in a chain reaction crash.

Teworte said drivers should leave early and take their time to avoid being involved in a collision.

"[It's] winter driving conditions — the snow is wet and slippery and defensive driving is really your best option," he said.

Most of southern Alberta remained under Environment Canada snowfall warnings on Monday morning. In Calgary, the forecast is calling for another two to five centimetres of snow before it tapers off. 

Temperatures are expected to rebound through the week, with a high of 10 C in the forecast for Wednesday.

School closures

Palliser Regional Schools, a public school division in southern Alberta serving more than 8,400 students, announced late Sunday that Monday would be a snow day for all of its schools located south of Calgary. 

Monday classes were also cancelled by the University of Lethbridge and Kainai Board of Education.

Travel advisories

A travel advisory was issued for southern Alberta on Sunday, said Alberta 511 manager Erin Davidson.

"If you don't need to travel today, consider postponing your travel even by a couple of hours to make a real difference," she said. "Keep your eye on the road conditions, keep your eye on the weather."

"With the wind and any falling snow, we're definitely going to see some potential for reduced visibility in that blowing snow," Davidson said. "Right now, we're looking at primarily fair to good visibility across the province. Some areas in southern Alberta around Cardston and around Elkwater are reporting poor visibility. But it's really going to affect your travel."

If travel is required, Davidson recommended turning on head and tail lights, brushing vehicles off and increasing following distances.

Snowfall totals for Calgary were expected to reach 15 to 25 centimetres before easing up on Monday afternoon, according to Environment Canada.

Winter storm warnings were in effect for the areas of Okotoks, High River, Claresholm, Crowsnest Pass, Pincher Creek, Waterton, Kananaskis and Canmore.

The extreme southwest corner of Alberta saw significant snowfall levels, and could even get a metre of snow by Monday.

Environment Canada recommended postponing non-essential travel in these areas, but said those who must travel should prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating conditions on roadways.

Flights, classes cancelled

A number of flights out of the Calgary International Airport were also cancelled Sunday. Airport representatives said more crew members were being brought in to keep runways and roadways safe.

"I can tell you that despite the snow, the majority of our flights are operating safely. In certain cases, our airline partners have adjusted their schedules," said airport spokesperson Reid Fiest in an email to CBC Calgary.

Fiest said travellers should leave extra time to get to the airport and be patient as crews clear and de-ice aircraft.