Calgary's mid-April winter wonderland chills spring excitement
Spring's cruel weather shenanigans are continuing in southern Alberta, where heavy, wet snow made morning commutes in the Calgary area slow and slippery.
Car windshields across the city were coated with a heavy layer of snow Tuesday morning as drivers tried to adjust speeds to deal with poor conditions. It followed a wet snowfall Monday.
Fortunately, mid-spring winter comes as little surprise to seasoned Calgarians, who have learned from years of Alberta's erratic weather not to act too hastily when switching to summer tires or removing snow brushes from backseats.
There were few collisions in Calgary on Tuesday. Police said between midnight and 9 a.m., officers attended about 20 non-injury collisions and five that involved minor injuries. RCMP said there were a few cars in ditches, but no serious crashes reported.
This weather is actually fairly typical for this time of year, said CBC News meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe. The recent snow is the result of a cold Arctic air mass colliding with a warm front from south of the border.
"Normally, you get more snow than what you've seen for the month of April," she said.
"Averages are around 15 to 20 centimetres for the month and so far Calgary airport has seen about 10 centimetres."
More snow could fall Wednesday afternoon, but better weather is forecast to start arriving Thursday.
"That system might actually bring a few thunderstorms," said Wagstaffe. "By the weekend this will feel like spring is right around the corner."
The month of May usually sees between five and 10 centimetres of snow as well, she added.
The good news is winter weather could be on its way out, at least for April, with Environment Canada forecasting the snowfall would end by noon Tuesday.
Precipitation is expected until Friday, but anything falling from the sky is expected to be in shower or flurry form.
The cloudy conditions should give way to sunny conditions by Saturday, with a high of 11 C expected that day.
Mid-April winter lethargy didn't slow Suzanne West's stride, as she spent her birthday climbing the Crescent Point stairs for charity.
West, the president and CEO of Imaginea Energy, has held the Steps to End Homeless event every year for the past eight years.
"For nine hours, I do as many sets of stairs as I can, and for every set people come and do with me, I give a dollar to Inn from the Cold," she said.
This year's event was well-attended so far, despite the weather.
Last year, West and nearly 1,000 others ran a collective 5,231 sets of stairs.
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