Alberta sees collisions on snow-covered highways after winter storm

Sunday, November 17, 2013, 8:16 AM -

Saturday's snowstorm in the Prairies left most highways covered, and may have been a factor in three separate crashes near Calgary that involved around 40 vehicles.

Two people were injured and taken to hospital, while police say the worsening weather was a factor in a rollover that resulting in the death of a driver on Highway 43 near Valleyview in northeastern Alberta on Friday.

That was when the weekend snowstorm slowly began gathering before roaring through Alberta for much of Saturday.

Aside from accumulations of 10-20 cm, with higher local amounts, very strong wind gusts drove visibility down to near zero in many locations, leaving drivers stranded.

Accompanying that system was a massive cold snap. Nowhere in Alberta did the daytime highs reach above zero, with those strong winds making for a bitter windchill factor, feeling like -20 in some places.

As of early Sunday morning, the snow was tapering off in Alberta. The last snowfall warnings were dropped in the early morning hours, although 2-4cm may fall across parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan on Sunday.

The worst snow risk in Canada on Sunday, however, will be in the mountains of British Columbia, as well as in extreme northwestern Ontario.

That province is facing a messy day Sunday, with wind warnings in effect across the south and a chance of late-season thunderstorms late in the day.