Substantial snowfall arrives in Calgary

A Sunday afternoon crash on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary. (photo courtesy: Roxanne Blackwell)

Calgary police and RCMP are advising against travel within the city and on local highways as the blast of winter weather has made for poor driving conditions.

According to the Calgary Police Service, officers responded to 153 collisions on Sunday between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and  4:45 p.m., 13 of which involved injuries.

Strathmore RCMP have reopened the TransCanada Highway between Highway 24 and Highway 797 following a multi-vehicle crash.

The Calgary International Airport has announced its operations have been affected due to severe weather in the area.  Aircraft departure, arrival and baggage delivery may be affected.  As of 3:30 p.m. MST, 31 flights scheduled to depart from the airport on Sunday have been cancelled.

Airline passengers are advised to check on their flight's status prior to their arrival at the airport.

In Calgary, between 15 and 20 cm of snow is expected on Sunday with wind increasing throughout the day.  The combination of snow and wind will reduce visibility to less than one kilometre. Wind gusts of up to 80 km/h are predicted.

For updated information on Alberta’s winter storm warnings visit Environment Canada Warnings.