Alberta winter storm prompts 100-car highway pileup, moves east past major cities

Winter weather led to a massive pileup on the QEII near Airdrie on Wednesday. Police say 80-100 vehicles were involved.

A winter storm that hit much of Alberta on Wednesday has moved east and away from the province’s major cities and surrounding areas, but roads remain treacherous in its wake.

The storm created hazardous driving conditions from north-central areas around Grande Prairie and Slave Lake south to the Canada-U.S. border, particularly on highways and rural roads, as strong winds blew heavy snow, covering them and causing whiteout conditions.

It contributed to an 80-to-100-vehicle pileup that closed Highway 2 between Airdrie and Calgary in both directions, RCMP said Wednesday afternoon.

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RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney told CTV News Edmonton that Calgary police were redirecting traffic off Highway 2 northbound from the southern Alberta city.

The Olds Fire Department issued a weather and travel advisory on Wednesday afternoon, saying the major north-south route between Alberta’s two largest cities was closed southbound from the Olds overpass to Crossfield, a stretch of almost 50 kilometres. Olds, located just west of the highway, is 100 kilometres north of Calgary.

A collision south of Bowden on Highway 2 southbound at Highway 2A, reported mid-afternoon, also closed southbound traffic on it.

Bowden is 43 kilometres south of Red Deer and 115 kilometres north of Calgary.

Meanwhile, south of Edmonton, a collision on northbound Highway 2 approaching the Highway 616 turnoff to Millet early Wednesday afternoon has slowed traffic due to the closure of the right-hand lane, according to the province’s roads and traffic information service, Alberta 511.

Several vehicles were reported in ditches amid treacherous driving conditions all along Highway 2.

A snowfall warning that ended mid-afternoon was in effect for Edmonton and areas northwest to Grande Prairie. Forecasters say between 10 and 20 centimetres of snow is expected to fall, but some areas could see closer to 30 centimetres. Light snow is expected to stop falling overnight.

Highways and roads surrounding the Alberta capital were covered in snow as of 4:20 p.m. MT, including around Barrhead to the northwest, Lamont to the northeast, and Onoway, Spruce Grove and Stony Plain to the west.

Drayton Valley and communities around it about 150 kilometres southwest of Edmonton are enduring the same road conditions.

In north-central Alberta’s Peace Country, from the border with British Columbia east to Valleyview and south to Fox Creek, as well as around Slave Lake, road conditions are much the same.

Drivers were reporting blowing snow, snow drifts and two trucks helping vehicles in ditches on secondary highways and back roads near Spruce Grove and Stony Plain. Drivers also reported blowing, heavy snow on Highway 16 further west around Wabamun, Evansburg and Wildwood.

Highways and roads south of Edmonton were all partly covered by snow as of late Wednesday afternoon.

Several drivers reported on social media of strong winds blowing snow across highways, snow-covered sections of roads and of limited visibility, including on roads around Lacombe, Rimbey, Crestomere and Ponoka.

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