Heavy snow prompts warning in Calgary, brace for travel impacts Monday
Snowfall warnings issued for southern Alberta, with drivers urged to brace for difficult travel through Monday
A snowfall warning is in effect for southern Alberta, including the city of Calgary, for Monday. This is the first warning of the season for the region, with drivers being urged to adjust to the quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions.
"There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas," says Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in the warning.
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A weak, compact low pressure system developed in Alberta overnight, and has been bringing snow to Calgary and surrounding areas through the pre-dawn hours on Monday. Before sunrise, 3 cm had already fallen.
Snowfall will be quite heavy through the morning commute, lingering into the afternoon, with a few flakes still falling in the evening, as well.
WATCH: Calgary's first major snowfall of the season, drivers asked to avoid Highway 2
Between 5-15 cm of snow is forecast throughout Calgary, with even heavier totals falling to the west of the city, and upwards of 20 cm expected. It is possible for the forecast to increase, and for some areas to see even heavier totals, but it will be dependent on convective bands setting up over the region.
Regardless, it'll be a much slower day on the roads, and you'll likely want to leave plenty of extra time.
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Drivers may be especially caught off guard with the slick travel and accumulating snow, with this being one of the quieter fall seasons on record for the region.
As of November 17, only 3.1 cm of snow has been reported for Calgary since the start of September, merely falling behind the record-setting least snowiest fall from 1918.
On average, 19 cm of snow usually falls throughout the month of November in Calgary, so Monday's wintry weather will definitely help to bump up those totals.
Dangerous blizzard-like conditions target the eastern Prairies Tuesday
Periods of snow will develop across eastern Saskatchewan and fill in across southwestern Manitoba through early Tuesday, with sustained winds pushing more than 40 km/h out of the northwest. This will lead to reduced visibility and blowing snow concerns.
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We’ll continue to monitor the possibility of blizzard-like conditions with sustained winds at 40 km/h and visibility reduced to 400 metres or less.
Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across the Prairies.
