1967 Southern Alberta blizzard

The 1967 Southern Alberta blizzard was a powerful spring blizzard that struck southern Alberta on April 17-20, 1967 and on April 27-29, 1967. A record breaking 175 cm (69 in) of snow fell over the southern part of the province. Schools were closed, power was cut, roads were blocked, thousands of cattle died, and intense flooding happened. To this day, the blizzard is widely regarded as one of the worst and most catastrophic blizzards in Canadian history.

Incident

On April 17, 1967, after an early season warm up, temperatures suddenly dropped a significant amount. Because the province was used to springtime in that time of year, cattle had been regularly out on pastures. That afternoon, heavy, blowing snow began to fall. The significant amount of snow quickly resulted in schools and businesses being closed down. Daily routines had abruptly stopped the more snow fell. Fences and roads became harder to see as snowfall went on, and a Canadian Pacific Railway train was sent to push a plow through the snow. This rescued about 30 drivers stranded in their cars unable to escape.

In the city of Lethbridge, Canadian Joint Operations Command was a dedicated radio station, providing 24 hour emergency messaging for citizens. The power had cut out many times over the rest of the next days. Farmers were apparently effected the most significantly. The livestock, still out at pastures, froze where they stood in the open fields, and some even got buried in the snow. Food and water supplies had also been limited due to the blizzard.

Eventually, the snowfall became so severe that cattle were unable to forage for food, leading up to the point of death. According to reports, an estimated number of 30,000 cattles died across southern Alberta. The Canadian Army and the United States Army sent helicopters in an attempt to airlift food for the cattle, but the cattle had already been dead.

On April 20, 1967, 3 days after the devastating storm, the snowstorm had temporarily stopped, with snow covering everything in sight. But the snow had not melted, and the temperature did not warm up. On April 27, before the pack of snow could clear, a second intense blizzard arrived. On April 29, the second and last snowstorm stopped, and helicopters were sent, providing groceries, medicine, food and fuel to stranded citizens of Alberta. The snowfall had reached a complete total of 175 cm (69 in), or 5 feet and 9 inches of snow, being just shy of 182 cm (72 in), or 6 feet 0 inches.

Aftermath

Following the disaster, temperatures became warm enough for snow to start rapidly melting. This caused significant widespread seasonal flooding across southern Alberta. On May 15, 1967, the federal revenue minister gave citizens "blizzard mercy", granting the residents of southern Alberta a two-week extension on their income tax filing deadline.