March melt starts in Calgary

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – It is going to beautiful in Calgary this week with the temperature expected to be well above zero.

That sounds wonderful to many, but there are some problems that could spring up.

The City of Calgary gave the following advice for anyone who is worried about the possibility of flooding.

Currently Water Services crews are focused on frozen water services and main breaks to get services back to Calgarians.

We will start looking at what the big melt will mean as consistent warm temperatures approach, closer to mid-March.

In the meantime, please see below for some tips for citizens:

  • ” Shovel snow away from the foundation of your home and window wells to prevent seepage into your basement.
  • ” If you are moving or piling snow, check furnace and exhaust vents to make sure snow and ice are not blocking them. Carbon monoxide can build up within your home as a result.
  • ” Ensure your downspouts (eavestroughs) are clear and pointed away from your home/foundation.
    ” Once the melt begins, you can clear away snow from the storm drain. If you find that the storm drain is iced over, do not try to remove the ice yourself. Call 311 and a crew will clear the ice for you. Don’t chip away at ice on storm drains as you may damage it or injure yourself.
  • ” If water pools by the storm drain, give it 90 minutes to drain. The City of Calgary has special devices in the storm drains that allow the water to drain slowly and not overload the stormwater system.
  • ” If you see pooled water on a roadway, be careful – don’t drive through deep water as you can’t see potentials risks or conditions that might be unsafe.

Our Meteorologist Andrew Schultz said the conditions are actually ideal with the temperature dipping overnight. So not all of this snow is going to melt at once.

“Typically at this time of year our average overnight lows is minus nine. We’ll be a little bit warmer than that, for the most part, but below zero every single night. It’s not like we a 24-hour thaw.”

Schultz said not everything is sunshine and rainbows in the forecast.

“We will see some accumulation on Tuesday but it is also one of those cases because it is warm enough we can get some half-decent flakes. It could be three centimetres, it could be more than that depending on where you are in the city.”

One of the issues we will keep track of as we move into the even warmer months is the snow melt in the mountains, which of course when paired with heavy rainfall was one of the main factors in the floods back in 2013. So for now, we can just enjoy the warmer weather.

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