The snow has began falling in southern Alberta and travelers are being told they should prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the city of Calgary, while mountain areas of southwestern Alberta are under a heavy snowfall warning.
“Calgary can expect 2 to 4 cm of snow this afternoon and another 2 to 4 cm this evening,” said Tiffany Lizee, Global’s chief meteorologist for Calgary.
Temperatures in the city are expected to be around -2 C during the day and dip to -6 C overnight on Monday.
While snow started falling in Calgary around noon on Monday, it was already starting to accumulate on the ground in some communities outside the city, such as Airdrie and Banff.
“Once you get into the foothills and into the mountains they have had quite a bit of snow accumulating, so winter driving conditions are in place,” Lizee said.
Albertans are being advised to be prepared for winter driving conditions as snow starts to accumulate in some areas of the province such as Dead Mans Flats near Banff.
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While below freezing temperatures may make some roads slippery, in Calgary a lot of the snow is expected to melt when it hits the ground, Lizee said.
“Despite the fact that we are below freezing right now, it was very warm over the weekend with temperatures in the high teens. So, the ground is very warm and melting that snow.”
Temperatures in Calgary are expected to rebound to around +7 C on Tuesday.
“Any lingering snow that we do have in the city will melt away quite quickly,” Lizee said.
Information on the latest road conditions is available at 511alberta.ca.
A heavy snowfall warning has been issued for the mountains of SW Alberta, including highway 22 where snow can be seen on the ground near Chain Lakes.
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Travellers through Calgary airport are also being warned of possible delays.
In its daily travel outlook, Air Canada is warning some of its flights may be impacted by snow and reduced visibility.
Those headed to the airport can check the status of their flights by logging on to yyc.com.