Blizzard, winter storm warnings still in effect across Sask.

The winter of 2020-21 has taken its first serious swipe at Saskatchewan.

As expected, a significant storm blew into the province on the weekend, dumping freezing rain and snow across most areas of the province.

The storm forced roads to close — including the Trans-Canada Highway between Swift Current and the Alberta border and between Belle Plaine and the junction of Highway 301 — and had SaskPower crews dealing with outages around Saskatchewan.

The status of the province’s roads can be found on the Highway Hotline map here.

Environment Canada still has blizzard, snowfall and winter storm warnings in place for many areas including Regina, Saskatoon, Assiniboia, Prince Albert, Moosomin and a lot of areas in between. A full list can be found online.

In Saskatoon, in-person classes Monday at all of the city’s high schools were cancelled. Elementary schools already had a professional development day scheduled for Monday.

“We definitely saw the wild weather move through Saskatchewan,” Environment Canada meteorologist Shannon Moodie said Sunday night. “We saw snow move in (and) the winds pick up. There was some freezing precipitation in the eastern parts of the province today.

“It has all switched to snow, so overnight, we’re going to see that snow continue to accumulate (with) reduced visibilities in the blowing snow and then tomorrow through the morning is when we’re going to see conditions gradually improve.”

Moodie said Sunday’s strongest winds were recorded in the southwest areas of the province, producing significant amounts of blowing snow. The Trans-Canada was closed for most of the afternoon.

At 8:15 p.m., the Warman RCMP said the Borden Bridge Valley on Highway 16 was impassable for semis and heavy equipment that are headed northwest. Ice and blowing snow on the road were the culprits.

“All day, semis have been getting off the road and getting stuck in ditches in that area,” the Mounties said in a media release. “Several of them are still waiting for help.

“Any other semi or heavy vehicle driver who tries to pass the valley will probably have to spend the night in the valley waiting for help.”

By Sunday evening, the Highway Hotline was still saying travel wasn’t recommended on highways around the province, including the Regina Bypass. The same warning applied to roads around Weyburn, Fort Qu’Appelle, Yorkton, Lumsden and Melville.

One caller to 980 CJME named Jeremy drove from Saskatoon to Moose Jaw on Sunday afternoon. A trip he usually makes in about two hours took him nearly 3 1/2 hours.

“After Davidson, it was good (on Highway 11) but from Chamberlain to Moose Jaw, the snowdrifts were so bad,” he said. “I was in an SUV and a car I don’t think would have made it.”

Jeremy said the problem wasn’t blowing snow but rather the white stuff lying on the road, particularly in the valley.

“I could feel resistance as soon as I hit it,” he said. “There were no other tracks in the snow, so I’m pretty sure I was the first vehicle to go through it.

“After I finished it on the south side, I was seeing vehicles coming north and I was like, ‘Man, they’ve got to go uphill on that.’ ”

A caller named Les, who lives in Corning, called the roads “treacherous.”

For him, it wasn’t the snow but rather the stiff breeze.

“The wind was blowing you right off the road,” he said. “You could stop and it’d blow you off the road.”

Moodie said the Regina area could expect 10 to 20 centimetres of snow overnight, while Saskatoon was expected to get another 10 to 15 centimetres. The whole province should be getting a reprieve Monday.

“Early morning, we’re going to see the snow start to taper off and the winds start to decrease,” she said. “That’s when we’re going to see the gradual improvement.

“Parts of east-central areas of Saskatchewan — like Melfort and Hudson Bay — could still see a few centimetres tomorrow as the bulk of the snow, the heaviest snow, is moving into northern Manitoba.”

Les admitted he expected to see a power outage due to the ice that was building up on the power lines. Asked if the storm concerned him, Les replied: “I’m not too worried. We’re from Saskatchewan.”

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Keenan Sorokan