Calgary Weather: Snow, snow possible west of Calgary

Calgarians woke up Tuesday morning to a thin layer of fresh snow.

Light and scattered showers are expected to persist through the afternoon, with northerly winds increasing throughout the day.

West of the city and in the foothills, Environment Canada and Climate Change (ECCC) noted seven to 10 centimeters of snow overnight, and with an additional five to 10 centimeters forecast, the ECCC issued a snow warning from Kananaskis to Waterton.

In a weather statement on Tuesday morning, the ECCC said: “Rapidly accumulating snow will make driving difficult in some areas. Sometimes visibility can suddenly drop in heavy snow.”

As of 8 a.m., the 511 Alberta camera in southern Alberta showed snow-covered highways and shoulders in the foothills.

Traffic reports from 511 Alberta at 8:15 a.m. confirmed deteriorating conditions west of Highway 2 southbound as well as west of QEII north of Calgary.

This new snow lies on top of hard ice in many places, so traction can be dangerous in parking lots, along roads, and in other ungroomed areas.

Northerly winds in Alberta will widen the gap between ambient temperatures and wind chill values ​​Tuesday and Wednesday. This is especially noticeable at night, when the temperature is around -16 C and the wind chill feels like the mid-minus 20s.

Even with some clear conditions, daytime highs in Calgary will remain below seasonable through Friday before returning to above-average and above-freezing temperatures starting Saturday.