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Photos: Calgary digs out from October snowstorm

Calgarians woke Tuesday morning to discover they’d been given a nasty October surprise: Their city had rapidly been transformed into a snowscape, resembling something akin to the planet Hoth from “Star Wars.”

Calgary received close to 40 cm of snow in 24 hours from overnight into Tuesday to Wednesday morning, according to city officials. The storm broke two October snowfall records, according to Environment Canada.

The snow caused significant traffic problems throughout the city and region. The Trans-Canada Highway east of Canmore was closed because of the storm, stranding some drivers on the freeway for up to 13 hours, CBC News reports.

There were collisions throughout the Calgary area, including a fatal crash involving more than 20 vehicles on the highway between Calgary and Edmonton. That artery was closed overnight because of that crash.

Meanwhile, city buses were abandoned throughout the day on Tuesday as drivers found themselves overwhelmed by the amount of snow that fell.

Late Tuesday, Edmonton announced it was sending Calgary some snow plows to help it dig out of the mess. The Alberta capital said it would loan Calgary the plows for 24 to 36 hours, according to the Edmonton Journal. Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Okotoks have also since pitched in with their own plows, Calgary city officials tweeted on Wednesday.

The early winter blast of course prompted plenty of people to take to social media and document what they were seeing. Here are some photos of the snowpocalypse.