Snow causes more than 100 crashes, bus detours, delayed or cancelled flights

A blast of winter weather expected to bring up to 15 centimetres of snow to Calgary caused more than a hundred crashes on the roads Tuesday morning as well as forcing bus detours and delayed or cancelled flights.

113 collisions on city streets by near noon Tuesday, Calgary Police Service says

CBC News Posted: Nov 19, 2019 8:25 AM EST | Last Updated: November 19, 2019

The Calgary Police Service said there were 113 collisions on city streets between midnight and 11:30 a.m., including13 that injured people and 10 hit-and-runs. In this photo, traffic rolls slowly along Parkdale Boulevard N.W. as snow continues to fall Tuesday morning. (Scott Crowson/CBC)

A blast of winter weather caused more than a hundred crashes on Calgary roads Tuesday morning as well as forcing bus detours and delayed or cancelled flights.

Ten to 15 centimetres of snow were expected to fall on the city on Tuesday, according to a warning from Environment Canada.

The Calgary Police Service said there were113 collisions on city streets between midnight and 11:30 a.m., including13 that injured people and 10 hit-and-runs.

The Calgary International Airport reminded travellers to arrive early and check for anyschedulechanges as the snowfall has affected some flights.

The Calgary International Airport tweeted that the snowfall was affecting flights and apologized for the delays, with some travellers saying they had been stuck on the tarmac for an hour or more. (Robson Fletcher/CBC)

The airport's website listed more than a dozen cancelled flights and many delayed flights.

Some travellers reported lengthy waits on the tarmac as planes queued for de-icing before takeoff.

#CTRiders due to weather conditions, several routes may be delayed. Bundle up and please allow extra time for travel today. pic.twitter.com/fLjcYFhGCj
—@calgarytransit

Environment Canadasays a low pressure system swept into southwestern Alberta late Monday and trackedeast early Tuesday morning.

The snow is expected to taper off by Wednesday morning.

Be sure to check current flight times at https://t.co/wjWF9sD7QY or with your airline - winter weather is impacting some flights. We apologize for the delays as we work to keep everyone safe.
—@FlyYYC

"Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow," the warning read.

A man shovels snow Tuesday in downtown Calgary. The heavy snow was expected to taper off by Wednesday morning. (Todd Korol/The Canadian Press)

Calgary Transit said the following routeshave been detoured because of the snowfall:

Route 6
Route 17.
Route 20.
Route 156.
Route 299.
Route 414.

"Our crews have out since last night laying down salt to help with the melting," said City of Calgary Roads spokesperson Chris McGeachy.

"Road salt is actually the best thing when the temperature is hovering around zero to 10."

Every piece of the city's available equipment is out on the roadways and crews will be working 24/7, focusing first on Priority 1 routes such as Memorial Drive and Crowchild Trail,McGeachy said.

The snowfall warning also covers: