Whiteout conditions sparked numerous collisions and landed several St. Albert motorists in the ditch Wednesday.

St. Albert RCMP Cpl. Laurel Kading said in a news release that travel is not recommended on Ray Gibbon Drive, McKenney Avenue or Giroux Road, due to blowing snow and icy roads. She said the poor conditions extend north to Legal.

Police responded to a series of collisions on McKenney Avenue near Ray Gibbon Drive Wednesday afternoon after blowing snow and high winds caused whiteout conditions in the area.

At least one collision left a service truck on its side, while several other vehicles littered the ditches.

RCMP were forced to close a stretch of McKenney Avenue for roughly one hour until the area was cleared of vehicles and accumulating snow.

Poor weather conditions hit Morinville earlier in the day, forcing RCMP to re-route traffic along Highway 2 between secondary highway 651 and Township Road 572 after two semi trucks jack-knifed and blocked traffic shortly after 9 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Environment Canada indicated that winds reached up to 70 kilometres per hour in the Edmonton region Wednesday.

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