Old Man Winter has proven to be a persistent force, blanketing parts of Canada with heavy snow and freezing rain, transforming roads and a restaurant into a chaotic scene.
“March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion,” Bavie Sara, a 66-year-old retiree, said Friday, delivering a reverse twist on the age-old weather adage while navigating snowy streets in Edmonton.
“We’re surrounded by lions.”
Mounties in Alberta reported they responded to 147 crashes and urged drivers to keep their mirrors clear of snow and their lights on when driving. Police have not reported any fatalities.
Cars travelling on Whitemud Drive, a key east-west artery in Edmonton, were bumper-to-bumper in both directions Thursday night after several collisions brought traffic to a standstill.
It took police 12 hours to clear it up.
Edmonton police also reported a pickup truck swerved in snowy conditions to avoid a crash and ended up piling into the front entrance of a Boston Pizza restaurant. There were no injuries and no charges were laid.
RCMP recommended staying off the roads due to “extremely poor” conditions.
The blizzard conditions, known as an “Alberta Clipper,” are a harsh reminder that winter isn’t ready to quit, even more than a week after the official start to spring.
Only a light dusting landed in Calgary on Friday morning, a minor nuisance for public golf course workers prepping the greens for the spring.
“The weather doesn’t look terrific, but it is Calgary — that can change within the next hour,” said John Faber, the city’s golf lead. The city is still going ahead with opening the first public course next week, he said.
In Manitoba, several rural schools were shuttered and some highways closed due to the sudden dump of snow.
