Red Deer residents let out a collective sigh as they emerged from their homes on Thursday morning. St. Patrick’s Day was more white than green as nearly 10 cm of snow fell between late Wednesday night and into Thursday afternoon.
“A heavy band of snow between Olds and Red Deer dropped about a centimetre of snow per hour and the band was moving very slow,” said Cindy Yu, meteorologist at Environment Canada.
Numerous collisions occurred between 8 and 11 a.m., as motorists throughout Central Alberta lost control of their vehicles on major roadways due to slippery conditions and limited visibility.
“We had many vehicles sliding into the ditch earlier in the morning,” said Red Deer RCMP’s Cpl. Kathe DeHeer.
Blowing snow heavily blanketed Hwy 2 between Olds and Red Deer, causing several multi-vehicle collisions, but no injuries were reported.
A Red Arrow passenger bus careened off Hwy 2 and into the ditch shortly before 9 a.m.
The southbound coach was left immobile, north of Hwy 11A. Passengers were uninjured and loaded onto a Prairie Bus Lines coach less than an hour after the accident.
“When buses are sliding off the road, you know it’s slippery. And visibility was poor even in the city,” DeHeer said.
The snowfall dissipated by early Thursday afternoon and Environment Canada said today and Saturday will have a mix of sunny and cloudy periods, but there will likely be little snowfall.
Sunday is a different story.
“Expect snow again Sunday, and at this point it looks like it will be a similar amount to Thursday’s snowfall,” Yu said.
syoung@www.reddeeradvocate.com