Alberta’s warm spell slammed to a halt Tuesday as a harsh winter system crashed back into the province, bringing heavy snow in its wake.

The vast majority of the province is currently under Environment Canada alerts for heavy snowfall, winter storms or extreme cold.

The Edmonton area saw 15 centimetres of snow Monday night into Tuesday morning, with another 15 centimetres expected before the system moves out, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Terri Lang.

However, Lang said the heart of the storm is pushing eastward, moving away from Edmonton later on Tuesday.

“The hardest-hit areas are those areas to the east of Edmonton, along Highway 16. So Lloydminster up through Cold Lake [are] really getting hit hard right now with that heavy snow,” she said.

Beginning Tuesday morning, Environment Canada placed east-central Alberta under a winter storm warning, cautioning that “hazardous, blizzard-like winter conditions” would continue throughout the day.

Most of central and southern Alberta is expected to see 15 to 30 centimetres of snow. In Edmonton and eastern parts of the province, Environment Canada says local accumulations could reach 40 centimetres.

In central Alberta, Environment Canada is cautioning that traveling will be difficult with rapidly changing and deteriorating travel conditions, with blowing snow expected to reduce visibility to near-zero particularly in eastern parts of the province.

In a news release, the Alberta RCMP said it has issued a tow ban for Highway 2 from Edmonton to just north of Red Deer, as deteriorating conditions are making towing operations too dangerous.

Edmonton road clearing

A Phase 1 parking ban will take effect in Edmonton at 7 a.m. Wednesday, city officials announced during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

The parking ban is expected to last three to five days and will restrict parking on all major roadways, arterials, collectors and bus runs, said Val Dacyk, the City’s general supervisor of infrastructure field operations.

Dacyk said the City will be doing an evaluation of residential roads to determine if a Phase 2 parking ban is needed.

The city is contracting 100 extra pieces of equipment — mostly graders — to assist with snow clearing.

“Residents will be able to see that our major roadways are getting cleared or in the process of getting cleared at least by rush hour [Wednesday] morning,” Dacyk said.