By THE CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTON — Robins in Edmonton are very confused, and the Easter bunny is looking to strap on some snowshoes.
A spring storm rolled across Central Alberta on Thursday, dumping heavy snow that brought down branches and trees, took out power and traffic lights and caused general commuter chaos.
Just a few days earlier people were wearing shorts and celebrating an early spring. Mohamed Elturk said he knew better than to put away his shovel for the season.
“You always have to be ready,” he said while clearing the sidewalk in front of his downtown restaurant. “It’s Canada.”
A heavy snowfall warning was in effect for most of the region. The area west of Stony Plain was hit the hardest with 30 centimetres of snow before noon, while Edmonton received about half that amount, but was expected to get more.
City plows were busy clearing streets, and utility crews were out trying to restore power. Some businesses told their employees not to bother coming in to work. Others decided to take the day off.
But Jean-Marcel Croteau with Canada Post was still out delivering mail, his last run before the Easter long weekend. He said power was out in one downtown office building on his route, so he used his cellphone as a flashlight while feeling his way around the mailroom.
“I was trying to get the mail in the slots. Hopefully I did it right,” he said. “We’ll see on Tuesday.”
The power was also out in the south-side Alberta Motor Association building for most of the morning.
Road report co-ordinator Terry Clovechok said calls for tow trucks were about four times the average, and most people had to wait three hours for service. Some tow trucks were even called to help rescue other tow trucks stuck on side streets.
South of the city near Ponoka, on busy Hwy 2, a tractor trailer truck carrying 54,000 kilograms of beef slid off the highway, landing in the Battle River. No one was hurt, but part of the highway was shut down for several hours.
Dun Kulak, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, chastised co-workers in Edmonton who had already taken off their snow tires. He said they should know better.
“Every year there are spring storms moving across the Prairies,” Kulak said, adding this snowfall may not be the last Albertans will see in the coming weeks.
“The May long weekend has been known to have some real significant storms in central Alberta.”