What Albertans remember of the 1986 May snowstorm that 'virtually paralyzed' the province

We all know Alberta has pretty unreliable weather, with May already seeing rain, sun and snowthis year.

But thisweek wedecided to lookback into our archivesat the 1986 surprise snowstorm that hitAlberta hard on May 14. The storm toppled power lines, closed schools and generally made a mess of the highways.

"Until it lets up ...Calgary and southern Alberta will remain virtually paralyzed," CBC reporter David Kyle said, summing up the situation onThe National.

So before you complain about the rainy weather we're expecting in the next week, here's a reminder of what that looked like.

Turns out the storm stood out in the memory of many Albertans. Here's a roundup of their responses from our Facebook page.

• Have your own memory? Let us know in the comment section below

"I remember being stranded in my vehicle on the highway between Balzac and Airdrie. Thankful a complete strangerrescued me from my vehicle and took me back to Calgary. He and his lovely wife took me in for the night ensuring I was dry, warm and safe. I don't even know their names but think of them often with love and gratitude," wroteKate Kittmer.

"I remember it CLEARLY! I climbed up a snowdrift to look into my upstairs bedroom window, and dug a horizontal tunnel I could climb into, up to my neck, in another one in the backyard," wroteKevin Ashman.

"I remember this. Our parents made us walk to school. It was closed," wroteNathan Erik.

While there were many struggles during the storm, it was also fondly remembered by some.

"My sons made an igloo in the backyard," wroteRebecca Manlawe Lodhar.

"I remember that we had no power for threedays and had to roast wieners on the fireplace and my son and daughter thought camping in the living room was fun," wroteTerry Eldridge Clarke.

"Yep.55 hours with no power or water, my dad drove the snowmobile into Airdrie and got milk from the Chinese restaurant. He used the tractor to clear our driveway and made the biggest pile of snow ever. But I did have to listen to the Flames play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on the radio, I'm thankful for batteries. Best. Storm. Ever!" wroteMegan Raaflaub O'Reilly.

"I had planted all the fields and along comes 10 inches of snow. Two days later we are at 25 C. Best crop ever," wroteGerry Hand.

There seemed to be a lot of pregnancy stories among the memories.

"I was 7 months pregnant with my first born (Megan) and I had a doctor's appointment. There I was in the middle of the storm in my Daytona (no snow tires) and going on a barely visible track of snow. Young and foolish. When I got to the doctor's officeno one was there. The waiting room was empty.Yes, I did get a lecture from my doctor. The wait time was great though," wroteDebra Watt.

"I was trapped on a bus in downtown Calgary and 8 months pregnant!" wroteLynda Hayward.

"I am still paying for that storm.We should have named the baby that arrived ninemonths laterStorm, Blizzard, Snow White or May.What is it about May in Calgary?" wroteCari Middleton.

And it wasn't just southern Alberta.

"Trying to get to Edmonton before my mother died and our plane on Canadian Airlines was snowed in," wroteLiza Bennett.

I was in Red Deer, and we lost power for most of the day. We were really lucky.We had an old gravity furnace, so our house never got cold," wroteShannon Barritt.

"Was on an exercise in Wainwright, downed power lines across the countryside. Tons of people stuck in ditches," wroteLamont Rustamova.

There was one Albertan, though,who had some trouble remembering the event.

"I don't, and I was the reporter!" David Kyle wrote on CBCCalgary's Facebookpost.