Snow and freezing rain to hit Saskatchewan over weekend

Saskatchewan may have been enjoying warmer temperatures than usual in recent days, but people may need to brace themselves for another shot of winter this weekend.

Environment Canada says snow and freezing rain are expected to hit the province.

“We are going to see a weather system move through over the weekend and that’s going to bring some snow to central and northern Saskatchewan and some freezing rain to much of southern Saskatchewan,” Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said Friday.  “I think the southwest will probably escape it.”

That said, Lang did say there’s a possibility the southwest could get some freezing rain.

“People should be expecting some challenging weather conditions (Saturday) with that freezing rain coming in — particularly in southeastern sections — so they should be listening for any kind of freezing rain warnings,” Lang said.

“(They should be) checking highway conditions before heading out and being prepared to maybe modify their travel plans if that takes them into the areas where we do expect freezing rain.”

Lang explained why Saskatchewan has been experiencing warmer temperatures of late.

“(They have been) closer to average in northern Saskatchewan, but across southern Saskatchewan, it’s generally been warmer than average — and that’s because of the cloud cover,” she said.

Lang explained the cloud cover keeps temperatures warmer at night and somewhat cooler during the day, but that’s still warmer on average than what people might expect for a January in Saskatchewan.

“We haven’t seen that arctic air come back in because that arctic air is over in the eastern part of the country,” she said.