Drivers warned to stay off roads as winter storm wallops Alberta and Saskatchewan

RCMP in Sask. Bring home the bacon update on weather-related calls for serve

RCMP closes Trans-Canada main road near Secretan Sask. After semi crash

Winter storm shuts down some Sask. Highways, brings snow, wind and freezing rain

Blizzard warning issued as snow, freezing rain hit southern Manitoba

Snowfall warning in effect for central and northern Alberta

Why do bridges get slippery first in cold weather?

How to avoid white-knuckling it while driving on snow

Climate change is supercharging our winter storms

How Environment Canada’s new weather warning system works

We’ve just heard from the Calgary International Airport that the flight suspension will be lifted at 2:30 p.m. MT.

The airport says at least one runway should be operational in less than half an hour.

Even with the suspension lifted, some flights may continue to be affected in the aftermath of the snowstorm.

Speaking from experience (I’m from Manitoba), driving on the Prairies can be extremely dangerous during the winter months, when ice and snow builds up on the roads.

Combine that with heavy winds and blowing snow limiting your visibility and you’ve got a very treacherous situation when a snowstorm hits — even if you have winter tires to give you more grip on the road.

“You can go to zero visibility in a hurry, where you have no idea where the roadway is, where the ditches are,” said Jenny Hagan, a severe-weather specialist and storm chaser, who spoke with our colleagues in Saskatchewan earlier today.

Alberta RCMP are advising drivers to stay off all roads across the province today. If you're involved in an accident or a collision, they say they can’t guarantee they’ll be able to get to you quickly.

The province has removed "travel not recommended" warnings for the Swift Current area, Highway 48 around Grenfell and Highway 2 around Mossbank.

But travel is not recommended on Highway 11 from Alyesbury to Davidson due to icy roads.

Saskatchewan's Ministry of Highways says motorists should be on alert as “conditions can change rapidly and unexpectedly.”

Southern Saskatchewan is seeing treacherous weather conditions, as a large section of the Trans-Canada Highway between Swift Current and Caronport has been closed.

Police said all four lanes of the highway would be off limits for an undetermined amount of time, my colleague Alex Kozroski reports.

"If you happen to have a weather bingo card, you're probably going to be able to fill that weather bingo card today because we've got a mixed bag," said Saskatchewan highways ministry spokesman David Horth.

"We've got rain, we've got snow, we've got wind, we've got ice. It's a good day to maybe rethink travel plans if you possibly can."

The Saskatchewan RCMP said Wednesday morning that a semi-trailer was on fire after crashing on the Trans-Canada Highway near Secretan.

This storm is likely to be dramatic for the amount of snow it brings, but also because of the fast temperature change. For example, Regina's forecasted high today is -1 C but will plunge to -23 C by tomorrow morning.

This animated map shows how that frigid Arctic air will swoop down and blanket the Prairies over the next two days.

A reminder that Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued a swath of warnings across the country. These include blizzard and wind warnings in the southern Prairies and cold warnings in the north.

ECCC recently introduced a new colour-coded warning system that Canadians are still getting used to.

John Gibson

Hi, I'm John Gibson, a web writer in Calgary. The severe storm has prompted officials to shut down the Queen Elizabeth II Highway between Calgary and Airdrie to the north. The highway is the main north-south route in the province.

The Calgary International Airport says it’s temporarily suspending all flight operations until it’s safe for aircraft to take off and land.

With blizzard conditions bringing heavy snow, extreme wind gusts and poor visibility, the airport needs to shut down all paved surfaces for snow-clearing operations.

The airport says passengers should check the status of their flight before arriving at the airport, leave extra time to make it to the airport, and anticipate delays due to runway clearing and de-icing.

It’s snowy out there! ❄️ Our operations crews are hard at work keeping runways and surfaces clear while we are experiencing low visibility conditions. Please expect delays as we keep airport operations safe. Check with your airline for the most up to date flight information (1/2) <a href="https://t.co/t2QFRGhe9t">pic.twitter.com/t2QFRGhe9t</a>

The Icefields Parkway in the Rockies is now closed from Valley of the Five Lakes, near Jasper, Alta., to Lake Louise, Alta.

It’s unclear when it will reopen, but Alberta 511 says the next update isn’t expected until tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. MT, suggesting it will probably be closed overnight.

As the storm began to whip through northern Alberta this morning, RCMP in Grande Prairie issued an advisory urging drivers to avoid travel in the region as conditions worsened across the province.

According to Environment Canada, the heaviest snowfall is expected between Highway 16 east of Edmonton and Highway 12 east of Red Deer. Local amounts of 30 cm are possible, Environment Canada cautioned.

Blizzard conditions are also likely to develop in areas nearest the Saskatchewan border, particularly between Highway 14 and Highway 9 from Wainwright to Oyen. Wind gusts to 90 km/h along with falling and blowing snow will reduce visibility to near zero.

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