Calgarians traded in their slickers and umbrellas for parkas and mittens after rain turned to snow overnight, transforming the city into a winter wonderland Saturday morning.

Heather Smith, a meteorologist with the weather agency, said the snow was being generated by a strong low pressure system in the pacific pushing moisture into the province combined with an arctic high ushering in cold air.

“It’s a stagnant weather pattern and not much is changing,” Smith said on Saturday. “It will snow on and off for the next few days.”

The spring snowstorm forced city officials to cancel the 47th annual pathway and river cleanup event, which had been scheduled for Sunday morning. Approximately 2,900 volunteers had been set to pick up thousands of garbage along 200 kilometres of pathway, the river’s edge, and in city parks.

The event has been moved to May 25th.

Some people took to Twitter to post pictures of snow-covered backyards and branches sagging under the weight of the white stuff, including a few shots of fallen trees on top of vehicles parked outside.

The snow also created challenging driving conditions on some highway roads, with Canmore RCMP warning against travel on Highway 1 due to limited visibility. Highway 1 in the Golden, B.C., area was also closed for avalanche control.

But in Calgary, city police and EMS said the number of crashes they responded to were relatively typical for a Saturday morning, with three injury collisions and 28 non-injury collisions reported to police between 6 a.m. and noon.

Severe weather can be reported by calling 1-800-239-0484 or emailing storm@ec.gc.ca. Reports over Twitter should include the hashtag #ABStorm.

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