A steady snowfall that started yesterday afternoon (December 21) in Cochrane has seen upwards of 25 cm of accumulation.

Roadways in and around Cochrane are snow-covered and have been hard to find at times, making it extremely difficult to navigate.

Jacquie Richards from Big Hill Towing says that Big Hill has been kept busy with the recent dump of snow. She says that the roadways aren't the only thing getting lost in the powder.

"It's actually made it hard to find some vehicles that have gone into the ditch," says Richards. "Later yesterday afternoon and evening in just a very short space of time vehicles were getting covered and completely obscured by the snow."

Richards says that with the increase in roadside emergencies, tow trucks are in higher demand and that the wait times for a tow truck are longer than normal.

"Snowploughs are working very hard but it's extremely hard to keep up," says Richards. "So, yeah you could expect to wait three to four hours for sure. I think those times are just going to creep up as the day goes by and more calls start coming in. We've got extra drivers on today of course. Anytime there's a snowfall warning we call out the whole crew."

Richards says that this morning the phones at Big Hill Towing have been ringing off the hook with drivers not being able to get out of their driveways. 

Richards is reminding drivers to give themselves plenty of time on their drive and adjust to winter driving conditions.

"It's so hard to say 'stay home if you can' because it's a couple of days before Christmas and everybody's just swamped trying to get things done," says Richards. "I would say just take it really slow. Plan for lots of time and be patient with yourself and others."