Freezing rain warnings lifted for southern Saskatchewan

Freezing rain hit the Regina area Wednesday morning.

According to Environment Canada, patchy freezing rain could occur for several hours before turning to snow before noon.

A freezing rain warning for the Regina region was lifted around 8:30 a.m., and a warning for areas around Fort Qu’Appelle, Lumsden and Pilot Butte was removed at around 9:30 a.m.

The weather agency warned about the potential of hazardous driving conditions with surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots becoming icy and slippery.

Environment Canada meteorologist Rose Carlsen said the freezing rain warning is a result of a small system and she doesn’t expect the warning to be expanded to cover the entire province.

“I was taking a look at the radar returns this morning and (there’s) snow farther north towards … the Outlook and Saskatoon (areas),” Carlsen said. “Farther south in the Moose Jaw and Regina (areas), the radar returns are having more of a liquid presentation.”

There isn’t a freezing rain warning in effect for Moose Jaw because the temperature there is above zero, the meteorologist said.

Carlsen said she doesn’t expect the warning to be in effect for very long.

“The system itself is not a very strong system. It’s going to be more of a short-term warning,” she said. “We may have to spread it a little farther east, but I don’t expect it to be a large event.”

RCMP warn of icy conditions on Highway 1

The RCMP in Indian Head warned the public about “extremely icy road conditions” on Highway 1, particularly around Wolseley.

“The public is advised not to travel in the area until road conditions improve,” the RCMP said in a statement. “Several collisions have been reported.”

Drivers were advised to monitor the Highway Hotline for the latest information on road conditions.