Weather prompts travel and avalanche concerns

Visibility made travel challenging in Calgary as snowfall continued Friday. Officials reported 88 crashes on the roads, and delayed flights at YYC.

Calgary and many parts of southern Alberta remained under a heavy snowfall warning Friday with the wintry blast that started the previous night continuing to cause safety concerns.

Environment Canada warned the reduced visibility can make traveling challenging.

Between midnight and 4 p.m., Calgary recorded more than 150 crashes, while about one-third of flights at YYC were delayed.

While weather delayed flights at Calgary International Airport, motorists were taking it easy on the highways surrounding the city.

“We did leave a little extra time just to make sure we could get here and get through customs with the roads for sure,” said Ethan Vanaman, who drove from Canmore Friday on his way to the airport where he was flying home to Cleveland.

Lyle Wildman drove down from Red Deer and was prepared for the conditions.

“It’s Alberta weather! Ha ha. Might change tomorrow,” she said.

The City of Calgary’s full fleet of snow sweepers, plows and sanders are working to tackle the snow and ice.

“Freeze thaw conditions can create challenges, ice forming, particularly where we have lower temps overnight so we do remind people to be cautious overnight after the sun’s gone down, early morning hours,” said City of Calgary’s Chris McGeachy.

EMS also responded to a lot of falls throughout the day.

Emergency crews warned people to take precautions on sidewalks and to clear snow as soon as possible to protect yourself and others.

“Whether it happens to be first responders, Postal Service or Amazon deliveries… anything like that that may be on your property, try to do what you can to make it safe for everyone.” said AHS public education officer Stuart Brideaux.

In the mountains, fresh snow and strong winds created high avalanche risk in several parts of Alberta and B.C.

Avalanches killed three people in the area over the past 10 days.

“Unfortunately, we has have seen a few fatalities recently on these persistent week. Layers are causing problems in numerous regions throughout British Columbia Alberta,” said Avalanche Canada forecaster Diana Saly.

A backcountry snowboarder, a skier and a snowmobiler died in three separate slides in B.C.

Avalanche Canada advises anyone heading out to check the latest conditions and avoid risky spots.

“We’re heading into what looks like a really sunny weekend and combined with a challenging snow pack, we recommend that this is the time to really use terrain appropriately,” said Saly. “And what I mean by that is (sticking to) simple terrain and avoiding slopes overhead.”