Winter has officially arrived, and in many ways, even Canadians weren't entirely prepared for it. Even in November, sudden snowfall came as a big surprise in several cities, including Edmonton, Alberta. Over the weekend, a massive Edmonton snow storm caused over 360 traffic accidents to be reported to the police.
What began as a rain storm on November 8 eventually turned into a massive snow system that covered Edmonton in 15 centimetres of snow by November 10.
Despite the fact that sand and salt were spread around problem areas, there was still an inordinate amount of car accidents.
From 7 p.m. on November 8 to 5:30 p.m. on November 10, the Edmonton Police Service received 363 reports of traffic collisions across the city.
Of those collisions, 46 were hit and runs. Injuries were reported in 23 collisions.
The majority of these accidents resulted in property damage, which was reported in 294 instances.
The city has put a seasonal parking ban in place in order to allow snow plows to clear the streets. Cars must be removed from marked areas during this time.
Edmontonians had already been tweeting about how bad the traffic in the city can get, especially when the snow starts falling.
Alberta also happened to be one of the coldest places on Earth over the weekend, making the sudden winter weather even harder to bear.
Despite all of the snow, Edmonton is expected to start warming up, with Environment Canada reporting temperatures above zero for the rest of the week.
Despite some flurries during the evening of November 11, the rest of the week is being reported as clear. It seems like Edmonton will get something of a reprieve from the winter weather.
At least, for now. Canadian winter is often unpredictable, and with November only beginning, more snow storms are probably on the way!
*Cover photo used for illustrative purposes only.