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Large snowfall pummels Airdrie, RVC ​​​​​​​

Rocky View County (RVC) residents who were dreaming of a white Christmas received their wish this year.
STANDALONE-Snowblower_web
An overnight snowfall in the Rocky View County region Dec. 21 led to more than 30 centimetres of snow the following morning. Photo by Scott Strasser/Rocky View Weekly.

Airdrie Rocky View County (RVC) residents who were dreaming of a white Christmas received their wish this year.

The region received a winter storm warning via Environment Canada on Dec. 22, after an overnight snowfall resulted in a dump of 25 centimetres.

“Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions,” a statement posted to weather.gc.ca said. “There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas. Take frequent breaks and avoid strain when clearing snow.”

The warning was issued for areas near Airdrie, Crossfield, Bottrell, Madden and Cochrane.

RVC posted to its Facebook page Dec. 22, stating staff were working on plowing and sanding roads across the County. According to the post, main service roads and high traffic volume roads received first priority, followed by roads with lower traffic volumes that connect to main service roads or serve subdivisions and local residential areas.

“Our service goal is to complete snow and ice control on Priority 1 roads within 36 hours of the end of a snowfall event, and Priority 2 roads within 60 hours,” the post read.

Elsewhere, in Chestermere, the City posted on its Facebook page Dec. 22 that residents should remain patient during the snowfall.

“City Roads Crews will be focusing on clearing the primary routes first, and then they will move onto secondary roadways,” the post stated. “Residents are asked to please be patient as routes are cleared and adjust your speed and following distance to the changing conditions.”

The post also asked residents to avoid non-essential travel until conditions approved.

“Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations,” the City stated. “Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow.”

The snow resulted in poor visibility and driving conditions, leading to an uptick in vehicle collisions throughout the region.  

The Town of Crossfield asked for the public’s co-operation as it deals with the major accumulation of snow.

“Please get your cars off the street and into your driveways if possible, and delay travel along Railway Street and other main arteries until they’ve had a chance to clear the snow,” the post said. “The priority at the moment is making sure the fire department and other emergency services can respond to calls.”

In Cochrane, the Town announced waste, organics and recycling collection were cancelled due to the heavy snowfall.

“This applies to Sunset, Sunterra and Cochrane Heights for waste and recycling and Fireside, Riversong, Rivera for organics,” a Facebook post said. “Please leave carts out, [as] collection will be rescheduled.”

Additionally, the Cochrane On-demand Local Transit service and Airdrie Transit were delayed or disrupted due to the snowfall.

“Service is expected to resume at 1 p.m. this afternoon [Dec. 22],” the Town’s post said. “Southland is making every effort to contact all booked riders.”

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