EDMONTON - After two months of being spoiled with balmy conditions, Mother Nature finally blew Old Man Winter back into Edmonton this weekend.
Since Saturday night, the city was hit with up to 4 centimetres of snow, which in many cases, felt like a lot more because of strong winds.
"It really wasn't a lot of snow but it was definitely a welcome back to winter," says Bob Dunford with the City of Edmonton. "November was almost 23 centimetres of snow, which is above normal for November. December kind of made us forget about that."
Residents like Lynn Hendrickson are prepared with their snow tires and shovels, and realize it could be a lot worse.
"If you compare to last winter we had so much snow, it was so high. Our backyard was 7 and a half feet of snow from shoveling, so this is pretty mild," she says.
Still, road crews responded to Saturday's snowfall by sending out around 80 plow and sanding trucks to restore city streets to good driving conditions. And they'll be stepping it up with about 100 trucks overnight to make sure the Monday morning commute goes smoothly.
AMA officials say they expect to see a big jump in calls this coming week, and are reminding motorists to slow down when they hit the road.
"The roads are going to be quite slippery. Wake up earlier, leave earlier, and start driving for the road conditions," says the AMA's Randy Loyk.
As of right now, the majority of roads surrounding Edmonton are said to be in "fair" condition. However, drivers are advised to be careful if traveling between Edmonton and Sherwood Park, since according to the AMA, road conditions there are considered to be poor, with icy patches, drifting snow and poor visibility.
To check road conditions in the Edmonton area, click here.
There are also some flight delays at the Edmonton International Airport. To see if yours is affected click here.
With files from Linda Nguyen, Global News
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