Snowfall in Red Deer on Bremner Ave. looking onto Bower Mall on Wednesday morning. (rdnewsNOW/ Sheldon Spackman)

By Alessia Proietti

24/7 snow removal crews on roads

Wednesday’s heavy snowfall a stark contrast from last November, City of Red Deer says

Nov 2, 2022 | 3:16 PM

It’s not just a topic for small-talk today; the weather is top of mind for many central Albertans with the heavy snowfall.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning on Wednesday for the central Alberta region, including the City of Red Deer, Lacombe County, Stettler County, Ponoka County, Red Deer County, and a few other locations.

They state on their website that around 10-15 cm of snow is expected to fall throughout the day in the Red Deer area with northwest winds gusting from 30-50 km/hour, and an average temperature of -6°C as of 2 p.m.

With a light snowfall Tuesday evening, Doug Halldorson, Roads Superintendent for the City of Red Deer’s Parks and Public Works department, says snow removal crews have been on the roads since around midnight Wednesday.

He says the crew, running 24/7 from November to the end of March, has been monitoring the roads as it rained and began plowing with trucks and graders when the precipitation started becoming of a slushy consistency.

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The City began with what he calls “red routes” comprised of main roads such as Gaetz Avenue, 32 Street, and Taylor Drive. The target to clear those roads is three days after it stops snowing; however, Halldorson says the City will finish the job in around a day and a half.

Sanding and snow maintenance will then move to “Green Routes” made up of predominantly bus routes.

This time last year, there were only two days of precipitation in the month of November, according to Environment Canada, seen at the Red Deer Regional Airport. This lead the City to be under the snow removal budget for 2021, with a roughly $500,000 surplus, Halldorson confirmed.

The yearly budget from January to December is $5 million for snow removal, he added.

“With the low snowfall last year, we’re in real good shape [with the budget] for the final couple of months for this year,” he said.

With some of the hottest fall temperatures this year that the City has seen on record, Halldorson says locals have been lucky.

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“We were spoiled all Fall and we’re paying for it,” he said.

Halldorson says day, evening, and overnight crews will be out until it stops snowing and all roads are clear. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, snowfall will decrease this evening to around four centimetres, with clear skies and higher wind gusts of 20 km/hour for Thursday.

Until then, Halldorson is reminding local drivers to be safe on the roads.

“Slow down, take your time. Maybe leave earlier to get to your appointment. The roads are slick and we’re out maintaining them. Give yourself extra time and give room to the snow plows; they’re big units and sometimes they can’t see you whipping by them so please pass them with caution and give them room to work,” he said.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Nov. 2 data from 1938-2013, the greatest snowfall in Red Deer was in 2013 with 21 cm. The highest temperature was in 1949 at 20.6°C. It’s lowest temperature was in 1991 at -26.3°C alongside having the most snow on the ground at 24 cm.

Red Deerians can find more information on the City’s snow removal process on their website.