Medicine Hat News
Brooks RCMP are dealing with a 50 car pileup in the westbound lands of the TransCanada Highway near that city as blowing snow is proving treacherous to travellers on Monday morning.
High winds and snow that began overnight continued into Monday, causing travel warnings and a call to remain off highways if possible.
Emergency crews near Brooks responded to calls at about 8:30 a.m. that between 50 and 70 cars were involved in accidents near Range Road 142, east of the city.
Traffic flow is expected to be hampered for several hours as traffic is detoured around the site, but RCMP are advising that drivers avoid the area and avoid travel in general.
A reception centre is open at the Heritage Inn, at 1217 Second St. W, for those unable or unwilling to travel this morning.
Whiteout in region
At 9:30 a.m. Alberta Motor Association reported bare conditions between Medicine Hat and Suffield on the No. 1, but poor and deteriorating conditions throughout the rest of the region.
Highway 1 east of Brooks, Highway 41 (north of Empress and south of the TransCanada), and Highway 3 (west of Taber), were all snow covered.
In Saskatchewan, travel was not recommended on most major and secondary highways between North Battleford and Swift Current along the Alberta boundary. The TransCanada between Maple Creek and Swift Current was reported to be partly covered with snow and ice, as were most areas south of the No. 1 highway.
Weather warning
Huge swaths of southern Alberta were put under a wind warning by Environment Canada last Sunday night, and it the Medicine Hat, Foremost, Brooks and Oyen regions gust of up to 100 kilometres per hour are not expected to ease until late afternoon.