Much of the snowpack is gone and Central Park on the Southeast Hill is mostly slush and some soft snow with bare ground underneath the trees along the edge of the park. The roads around the park are mostly ice although 11th Street SE has been well graveled.--NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Rain on packed snow and cold concrete made for treacherous driving conditions as Hatters returned to the roads following the Holiday long weekend.
Authorities in the city and region warned against unnecessary travel and bus routes were closed down for a period.
“Freezing rain and frozen pavement has resulted in some of the worst road conditions that I have ever experienced,” Medicine Hat Police inspector Brent Secondiak wrote on social media to start the morning. “Do not drive unless you have to! Even walking outside can be treacherous. Keep speeds extremely slow if you must drive. Be safe.”
So slippery were roads that Medicine Hat Transit halted routes at 9 a.m. citing passenger safety, then opened some routes and modified others in the afternoon.
A deep freeze last week including temperatures in the -30C range gave way to a warming trend Dec. 23, and a chinook on Christmas Day.
But the melt that led to slushing conditions on Boxing Day turned to ice over night, then drizzling rain was added to the mix Tuesday morning.
Police warned against travel inside city limits until sanding crews had addressed main routes. An afternoon update stated heavy trucks, graders and sand spreaders were still having difficulty navigating steep hills.
Highway maintenance crews with Volker Stevin were working throughout the day. Many main routes were considered dry and bare by mid-day, including Highway 41 leading to Elkwater, though roads in the townsite were reported to the News by readers as very icy.
Travel was not recommended on the northern portions of Highway 41, north of Sandy Point Bridge to Oyen and beyond. HALO air rescue ambulance reported it was dispatched to the Burstall area in the afternoon for undisclosed reasons.
A multi-vehicle crash on Highway 9 delayed traffic near Cereal in the afternoon.
Wet conditions were reported in north central Montana, and agencies in Alberta and Saskatchewan too warned motorists to be aware as colder nighttime temperatures could lead to icy conditions.
A fog warning for the Brooks region and a freezing rain warning remained in effect for southeast Alberta in the afternoon, but across the province, highway drivers faced winter driving conditions.
Black ice, freezing rain and slick roads on all major routes south of Red Deer led to a warning from the RCMP about deteriorating driving conditions.
That included a noon-hour bulletin about a number of accidents east of Strathmore on the Trans-Canada Highway.
The westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada, near the junction with Highway 550 near Bassano, were closed for about three hours as a single-vehicle accident downed power lines in the area. No one was seriously injured in that incident.
Few problems were reported related to the Alberta power grid in the region of southwest Saskatchewan by late afternoon. SaskPower reported outages near Moose Jaw, which like almost all of southern Saskatchewan, was under a freezing rain advisory.
In the forecast
Freezing rain was expected to continue overnight into Wednesday, but turning to light snow during the day and giving way to generally clear conditions through Jan. 2, according to Environment Canada.
Daily highs are expected to remain below freezing mark, but only in the single-digit negatives.
Back to routine
Garbage collection was scheduled to resume in Zone 3 on Wednesday after days to make up for the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays. The city’s landfill will also reopen today at 8 a.m. Christmas trees that are clear of decorations and tinsel can be dropped off at the city’s recycling depot locations.
Hydrants emerge
The Medicine Hat Fire Service is reminding residents not to pile snow around hydrants and requests that anyone with a hydrant on their property generally clear the area around it. Brushing it off will increase its visibility and make for easier access in case of an emergency, officials say.
