Snow plows at the ready as Calgary's warm November comes to an end

Calgarians have enjoyed an unseasonably warm start to November but there are sub-zero temperatures in the forecast now, prompting the city to prepare its snow-clearing fleet.

BillBiensch, the city's roads maintenance manager, said the city will experiment with newdevices this year aimed at clearing roads more thoroughly and reducing theamountof sand and salt that has to be put down.

"We want to try a rubber-edged blade for underbody plows, to clean the road a little better," he said."We also have a front-mount broom we're going to try if we have drier snow."

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The city's fleet includes 26graders, 78 tandem trucks with underbody and/or front plows, nine snow blowers, along with other smaller vehicles like skid steers and tractors.

City council set aside a $37-million budget for snow and ice control from January to December 2016.

Bienschsaid sparse amounts of snow in the spring and in the fall, so far, means there should be enough of that money left to last until the end of the year.

Environment Canada is forecasting periods of snow Wednesday evening, with about two centimetres expected to fall as temperatures fall to a low of -4 C.

A chance of flurries is also in the forecast for Thursday and Saturday.

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