Last Updated: Thursday, April 8, 2010 | 10:24 PM MT

CBC News

The storm began Thursday afternoon, leading to a careful commute home for many people. (CBC)

A sudden spring snowstorm in the Calgary area Thursday shut down Highway 2 from the city limits to Red Deer due to zero visibility and numerous vehicles crashes.

About 54 vehicles were involved in a crash near the Olds overpass, north of Calgary, on Thursday evening, but no one was seriously hurt, said the RCMP.

A tanker truck carrying propane overturned near the Highway 72 overpass near Crossfield. No propane leaked onto the road but securing the load and transferring it to another tanker was estimated to keep the southbound lanes of Highway 2 closed until about 6 a.m. on Friday.

Motorists were being asked to stay off roads and highways on Thursday night unless travel was absolutely necessary. Traffic lights were out across Calgary, and police asked drivers to treat intersections as four-way stops.

Police responded to a multiple-vehicle crash at Highway 1 at Garden Road, while McCall Way was closed between the airport and 78th Avenue where a large power line was down.