Travel advisories, blizzard warnings pop up as winter storm moves in

A winter storm made its mark in Saskatchewan early Tuesday with a smattering of travel advisories due to a mix of strong winds, freezing rain and snow.

According to Environment Canada, it’s only a small taste of what’s to come for most of the province.

Blizzard and winter storm warnings are in effect for central and northern Saskatchewan, while wind warnings cover the southern half of the province. A winter storm warning was put up for Saskatoon just before 9:30 a.m.

Regina, which was under a wind warning in the morning, was put under a blizzard warning just before 12:30 p.m.

“The next 24 hours won’t be very pleasant,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Robin Dyck. “There’s enough winter weather to keep us on our toes.”

As of 1 p.m., travel wasn’t recommended in the Leader, Lloydminster, Kindersley, Eston, Rosetown, Kyle, Big River, St. Walburg, Meadow Lake, Green Lake, Buffalo Narrows, La Ronge, Besnard and Pinehouse areas.

As well, travel wasn’t recommended on Highway 11 from Bethune to Davidson and on Highway 16 from North Battleford to Lloydminster.

Blowing snow and wind continue to be an issue here in Eatonia #skstorm at 10am pic.twitter.com/nmp2oHkQas

— Jenny Hagan LostInSk (@LostInSk) November 16, 2021

The blizzard started sweeping into west-central Saskatchewan in mid-morning, with a mix of both strong winds and snow.

A listener named Tina lives in Outlook, and she said the conditions were awful at around 11 a.m.

“There’s snow blowing, it’s super windy, and it’s just miserable … It was raining at first, so it’s a little bit slippery out,” she said.

She shared a word of advice for people in the area.

“Stay home,” Tina said. “I wouldn’t go anywhere.”

Adam Hooper from Biggar, about 130 kilometres to the northwest of Outlook, said it was similarly rough to hop in the car thanks to the blowing snow.

“I would say that if you have to travel, I would go slow. I wouldn’t recommend travelling,” he said.

Jenny Hagan from Eatonia said it was the same thing in her town.

“You can’t see too far,” she said. “There’s probably about a half a block of visibility … It has been down to just a few metres in front of your vehicle.”

The heaviest snowfall is expected to fall north of Saskatoon in a line from Meadow Lake to Pelican Narrows. That area could see 20 to 30 centimetres of snow.

The Saskatoon area will see five to 10 centimetres, with smaller amounts expected for southern Saskatchewan.

According to Dyck, the wind will gradually pick up through the morning in the Saskatoon area.

“We’re expecting 40 kilometres per hour gusting to 60 kilometres per hour and that could increase to 80 kilometres per hour later this afternoon,” Dyck said. “As we get into those northwest winds, temperatures will begin to drop and of course with the strong winds, windchill will be an issue.”

While the southern half of the province won’t have to contend with as much snow, winds will be much stronger.

Swift Current recorded a wind gust of 113 km/h at 6 a.m.

Dyck said peak wind gusts elsewhere will hit between noon and 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Areas surrounding and including Leader, Moose Jaw, Assiniboia and Regina will see wind gusts of possibly 100 kilometres per hour during that same time period,” Dyck said. “With those strong winds, make sure you don’t have anything outside, loose objects.”

Along with the winds, snow will begin to spread into southern Saskatchewan this afternoon, reducing visibilities at times.

Regina is forecast to receive about two centimetres on Tuesday, and two to four centimetres overnight before the system eases up on Wednesday.

Travel advisories from the Highway Hotline asked drivers to postpone non-essential travel until the storm passes.