The app this map came from
Weather Navigation carries the same radar and road-surface data on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with a weather-aware route planner and storm-cell tracking, over the United States and southern Canada.
Highway 16 conditions from Yellowhead Pass (BC line) to Lloydminster (Saskatchewan line)
Highway 16 (Yellowhead) Road Conditions in Alberta
Radar and live pavement conditions on the 633 km of Highway 16 (Yellowhead) from Yellowhead Pass (BC line) to Lloydminster (Saskatchewan line) — plus the summits it crosses and the winter tire rule in force on it.
Updated Sep 20, 2026 5:48 AM MDT · Mostly dry, wet in places
Lowest 5°C near Jasper · Highest wind 19 km/h near Lloydminster
Use Weather Navigation for your next road trip
Highway 16 is the Yellowhead across Alberta: from Yellowhead Pass on the BC line through Jasper National Park, Hinton and Edson — over Obed Summit at 1,164 m, the highest point on the whole Yellowhead — to Edmonton, then east through Vegreville to the Saskatchewan line at Lloydminster. Mountain snow west of Hinton, freezing rain in the foothills, blowing snow on the parkland; no winter tire law, and the 2024 Jasper wildfire closed it for eighteen days.
- Runs from: Yellowhead Pass (BC line) to Lloydminster (Saskatchewan line)
- Length: 633 km
- Local name: Yellowhead Highway
- Winter tires: Not required by law; recommended
Weather data from Sep 20, 2026 5:48 AM MDT
5°C
12°C
19 km/h
101.6-102.4 kPa
Closures and road work are not yet imported for Alberta; 511 Alberta carries them. No weather warnings from Environment and Climate Change Canada are in force as of Sep 20, 2026 5:48 AM MDT.
Segments and what to expect
Highway 16 is not one road in winter but five, and the names below are the ones drivers and 511 Alberta use for them. The elevations are the province's own, from its cameras at the places named.
-
Yellowhead Pass to Jasper
From the Continental Divide at the BC line down the Miette River to the town of Jasper, inside the national park: Parks Canada's road, with wildlife on it and the 2024 fire's burnt slopes above it. No winter tire rule here, unlike the Icefields Parkway that leaves it at Jasper.
-
Jasper to Hinton to 1,003 m
Along the Athabasca past Jasper Lake to the park's east gate (1,003 m) and Hinton, the front range: the snowiest part of the road, where a Pacific system crossing the Rockies drops what it has left.
-
Hinton to Edson over Obed Summit 1,003 m → 1,164 m
Obed Summit at 1,164 m is the highest point on the whole Yellowhead, higher than Yellowhead Pass itself, and the stretch that ices first and thaws last between the mountains and Edmonton.
-
Edson to Edmonton to 723 m
Four lanes through the foothills and farmland past Wildwood, Evansburg and Stony Plain to the Edmonton ring road (723 m): freezing rain country when a warm front rides over the cold prairie air.
-
Edmonton to Lloydminster from 723 m
East across the parkland through Vegreville and Vermilion to the Saskatchewan line, which runs down the middle of Lloydminster's main street: open, exposed and the coldest section in January, with blowing snow rather than depth.
Closures that have shaped Highway 16
Not a log of every hour 511 Alberta has shut a lane — the events that say what kind of road this is, each with the source it comes from.
-
–
The Jasper wildfire closed Highway 16 through the national park from the evacuation on the evening of 22 July 2024, when the north and south fires converged and the town burned on the 24th. Commercial traffic was let through from 1 August and all traffic from 9 August, daily between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. with no stopping inside the park — eighteen days with no road between Hinton and the BC line. Source: Global News, 8 August 2024; more ↗.
Alternate routes when Highway 16 is closed
- If Highway 16 through Jasper National Park is closed: Highway 2 to Calgary, then Highway 1 through Banff, Golden and Revelstoke — about 1 h 40 min longer than the direct road when both are open, 923 km against 808 km. The only other road from Edmonton to the BC Interior: south to Calgary and west on the Trans-Canada over Kicking Horse and Rogers passes. When Jasper was closed in 2024 this was the route, and Rogers Pass has its own closures.
Distances and times are measured over openrouteservice on a clear road; a closure day is not one, because the detour carries the closed road's traffic too. What is closed right now is on 511 Alberta ↗.
Highway 16 Winter Driving FAQ
- Is Highway 16 through Jasper open in winter?
- Yes, all year; it closes for hours at a time for crashes and heavy snow between Hinton and the BC line, and Parks Canada can close it for avalanche control near the pass. The eighteen-day closure of July and August 2024 was the wildfire, not the winter. Check 511 Alberta before Hinton and DriveBC for the BC side.
- Do I need winter tires on the Yellowhead in Alberta?
- Not by law. Alberta has not mandated winter tires and Highway 16 through Jasper National Park carries no Parks Canada tire rule either — that rule is the Icefields Parkway's, November 1 to March 31. Alberta Transportation recommends four winter or all-weather tires for severe conditions, and west of Edson they are the difference between a drive and a wait.
- Where is the highest point on Highway 16?
- Obed Summit, at 1,164 m between Hinton and Edson — higher than Yellowhead Pass at the BC line. It is the first stretch to ice in the autumn and the last to thaw, and the one to watch on a day the forecast says rain in Edmonton and snow in Jasper.
- How long is Highway 16 across Alberta?
- About 634 km from Yellowhead Pass to the Saskatchewan line at Lloydminster, measured along our line at 633: roughly 360 km of mountain and foothill road from the pass to Edmonton, then 270 km of open parkland to Lloydminster.
Weather Road Planner for car and mobile
The same live radar and road-surface data as this map, on your phone and on Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
