'Safe travel impossible' in much of south-central Alberta, RCMP says
A winter storm blasting Alberta on Wednesday became so severe by early afternoon that RCMP issued an advisory against travel on all roads and highways in the province.
“Please stay home and understand that if you are involved in a collision, it will be a while before emergency crews get to you,” RCMP said.
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“If you must travel, dress for the weather, put your headlights on, give lots of space, adjust your speed and give emergency crews room to work.”
Calgary police say there have been 142 crashes reported between midnight and 4 p.m. today. Of those, 96 were non-injury collisions, 16 involved injuries, and 30 were hit-and-runs with no injuries.
Police said drivers should avoid Country Hills Boulevard in northeast Calgary as of shortly after 4 p.m., and that they will attempt to shut down traffic on that road between Barlow Trail and 36th Street N.E.
As of approximately 2:30 p.m., the province sent out an emergency alert, saying severe weather conditions "are making safe travel impossible" in much of south central Alberta, including Chestermere, Drumheller, Mountain View County and Kneehill County.
RCMP Alberta Facebook advise Alberta drivers to stay off the roads, Dec. 17, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy of RCMP Alberta/Facebook)
Flights were suspended for a few hours at the Calgary airport due to heavy snow and reduced visibility. As of 3 p.m. that suspension had been lifted.
The Calgary Board of Education is warning of significant delays with yellow school buses as well as Calgary Transit. All after-school extracurricular activities and high school athletics are cancelled Wednesday, the school authority said.
The heavy, blowing snow is creating whiteout conditions, leading to multiple collisions north and south of Calgary as well.
Earlier in the morning, officials closed Highway 2 between Calgary and Airdrie in both directions.
A provincial highway camera captured the dangerous road conditions Wednesday near Airdrie, Alta. (Alberta 511)
A traffic pileup involving 80 to 100 vehicles has been reported between Calgary and Airdrie, according to RCMP. The northbound lanes and one southbound lane have reopened for traffic, while the rest of the southbound lanes remain closed but are in the process of being reopened.
A warming centre has been set up in Airdrie's Inspire library, with buses transporting stranded people to it.
Conditions are also dangerous on roads in the Okotoks area, Mounties warned.
You can check the latest road conditions on the 511 Alberta website.
In the southwestern part of the province, Environment Canada has issued an orange-level wind warning.
Damaging winds are expected in Lethbridge, the Crowsnest Pass, Cardston and Coutts.
“Westerly winds gusting up to 130 km/h are likely along the Highway 3 corridor between Lethbridge and the B.C. border late this morning and this afternoon,” Environment Canada said. “Utility outages are likely. Driving conditions will likely be very difficult. High-sided vehicles could be overturned by the wind.”
Lethbridge police are currently attending to a multiple vehicle collision in the westbound lanes of Highway 3 near the bridge deck. People are asked to avoid the area.
Prairie Rose School Division in southeastern Alberta is sending some rural buses home early Wednesday afternoon, according to a notice sent to parents. The notice says classes have been dismissed at several schools outside urban Medicine Hat.
Foremost School has suffered a power outage, and parents and guardians have been asked to pick up students as school buses have been cancelled.
To the west, the Icefields Parkway in the Rockies is closed from Valley of the Five Lakes, near Jasper to Lake Louise.
An Alberta clipper is bringing a huge dump of snow to the Prairies and portions of northern Ontario, followed by a blast of frigid Arctic air.
The snowstorm is expected to taper off from northwest to southeast Alberta on Wednesday afternoon.
Thumbnail courtesy of Mike Symington/CBC.
The story was originally written by and published for CBC News.It contains files from Amir Said, Eli Ridder.