Spring storm brings wet, heavy snowfall to southern Alberta

A spring storm is hitting parts of Alberta, with up to 25 centimetres of snow possible for some regions.

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special weather statement for a swath of the province — from Jasper south to Banff and Canmore, east to Calgary, and down to Pincher Creek and Cardston — with significant snowfall expected to continue all week.

Areas along the foothills were expected to see heavy, wet snowfall starting this evening and continuing through Wednesday, with 10 to 25 centimetres possible by Thursday morning.

This snowfall was forecast to spread to the east, but Environment Canada said the highest amounts would fall west of Highway 2.

Due to it being mixed with rain in some areas, the total accumulation of this spring snowfall were expected to range widely from place to place. 

On Calgary's roads, there were two injury collisions and 23 non-injury collisions from midnight to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, police said. 

The weather is also posing challenges for street sweeping equipment.

The City of Calgary announced on Tuesday that some scheduled residential street sweeping will be postponed until a later date in June because of the snowfall.

The communities that will be delayed include:

• Scenic Acres
• Somerset
• Riverbend
• Quarry Park
• Willow Park
• Wildwood
• Spruce Cliff
• Shaganappi 

Street sweeping typically begins in mid-April and runs through June. The city says it will adjust street sweeping dates as needed depending on weather changes, and residents can stay updated online or through signage in their neighbourhoods.

Calgary hit a low of 0 C around 5 a.m. Tuesday, but temperatures climbed to 2 C by just after 11 a.m., according to Environment Canada. The website said the city could experience up to two centimetres of snow overnight.

School closures, power outages

The Foothills School District closed multiple schools on Tuesday due to poor weather conditions and power outages. Among those closed were Red Deer Lake, Millarville Community School, Longview and all three schools in Diamond Valley.

In a statement to CBC News, the communications manager for FortisAlberta said there were multiple power outages throughout southern Alberta on Tuesday morning caused by a mix of wet snow and wind.

At the height of the storm, the utility had approximately 3,000 customers without power, according to a FortisAlberta statement. It added that crews had been working to restore power as quickly as possible and were expecting to have the power back on by 1 p.m.

Just before noon, FortisAlberta had approximately 900 customers still without power, and roughly 570 of those customers were in Okotoks. 

In Calgary, Enmax says crews were at work early Tuesday morning restoring power to nearly 3,800 customers after the heavy snow.

"With more snow in the forecast, our crews are ready for any potential outages and will safely restore power as quickly as possible," reads the statement sent to CBC News from an Enmax communications advisor. 

People can check for power outage updates through the Enmax outage map that includes information on which neighbourhoods are impacted and their estimated restoration times.

Enmax is also reminding people that downed trees and branches can pose a risk to power lines and public safety.

The City of Calgary says their urban forestry staff are assessing damage to trees and determining which need to be pruned or removed due to safety concerns.

According to the city, trees growing on the south side of Calgary were more heavily impacted by the storm than the north.