It’s shaping up to be a nasty blast of winter across the Prairies today with snowstorms and blizzards set to dump up to 30 centimetres in some areas.
Severe blizzard conditions in Calgary temporarily paused flights in and out of the city’s International Airport for a few hours on Wednesday.
Environment Canada issued a yellow-level winter storm warning, including “near-zero visibility in blowing snow continues, particularly outside Calgary City Centre.”
The federal agency expects conditions to improve this evening.
Video: A winter storm moving across much of Alberta on Wednesday brought blowing snow and extreme wind gusts to Calgary’s Deerfoot Trail
Environment Canada says heavy snow will have a stranglehold on morning commutes in parts of northwestern Alberta, starting in Grande Prairie and heading east towards Edmonton, before tapering off later Wednesday.
Dangerous driving conditions, CBC News reports, led to multiple collisions and closed Highway 2 between Calgary and Airdrie.
Blizzard conditions are also likely to develop in areas near the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, with wind gusts in cities such as Regina and Saskatoon reaching up to 110 kilometres an hour.
Southern Manitoba can also expect 10 to 20 centimetres of snow from the Alberta Clipper moving in this evening, along with possible freezing rain and wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres an hour.
The weather office says residents should be prepared for possible school and road closures, as well as scattered utility outages.
Meanwhile, northern parts of all three provinces can expect bitter wind chills near -45 C through until Thursday.
— With files from Calgary Journal staff
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2025.