Edmontonians get ready for winter driving conditions ahead of heavy snowfall

A storm is forecasted to hit Edmonton starting on Wednesday, bringing up to 20 cms of snow. CTV News Edmonton's Connor Hogg has the details.

Just as Edmontonians were enjoying warm spring days, a large snowfall will be hammering parts of Alberta before the weekend.

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Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a Special Weather Statement as five to 20 centimetres of snow is being forecasted between Wednesday night and early Friday, with below zero temperatures.

Don Meister, the owner of Buddy’s Garage, told CTV News Edmonton how drivers are being cautious about swapping out their winter tires.

“I think a lot of people right now are holding off because the weather is nice, and then not so nice, and nice (again), then not nice,” said Meister on Wednesday.

According to Meister, the threshold for changing to all-season tires is when temperatures reach 7 C or higher for a few straight days, otherwise you increase the risk of wearing out winter tires quickly.

When those temperatures will happen is unclear to Meister.

“We’re in Alberta, right? You could have that big dump of snow mid-April. It usually doesn’t stick around, but sometimes it’s wet and heavy, right? And other times we don’t get it,” Meister said.

“You (have to) kind of play that by ear.”

Meister said, so far, he has some people booked in at the end of April to the beginning of May, adding the garage can get “pretty hectic” once people are convinced spring is here for good.

As for what drivers can expect from the storm, the city is preparing for the slick conditions.

Valerie Dacyk with the City of Edmonton told CTV News Edmonton, since roads are clear at the moment, they will be implementing a standard approach to the snowfall.

“We are going to be working on traction and ice mitigation,” Dacyk said on Wednesday. “Right when it starts to fall, it is predicted to be a heavier, wet snow. So we are going to be emphasizing the use of sand and melting factors when it is still pretty warm.”

Dacyk said if snow starts to accumulate, crews will begin clearing it off the roadway and pile it on the side of roads.

She also warned drivers about the risks of temperatures hovering around 0 C.

“Because (the temperatures are) so much closer to zero, we deal with a lot more melt and freeze,” she said.

“The caution that I give everyone during this time of year is to be careful in those sun rising, sun setting times, because that’s when the air temperature is falling (and) you’re going to have that formation of ice.”

“What may look like a clean road will likely have a layer of ice on it.”

She said taking extra time for your commute and driving to the conditions is safe during any season.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg