Second storm in a week to bring up to 25cm of snow to Regina

City of Regina snow removal crews are facing a quick turnaround this weekend as they prepare to face another snowstorm over the weekend.

Regina is expected to get up to 25 centimetres of snow from Saturday into Sunday.

Environment and Climate Change Canada said in a forecast at 8:30 a.m. that two to four cm of snow would fall in the Queen city beginning this afternoon, with 30 km/h easterly winds, gusting to 50 km/h near noon.

With a daytime high of minus 9 that will bring wind chill values of minus 23 Saturday morning and minus 18 Saturday afternoon.

The snow will pick up tonight, ECCC said, with 10 to 20 cm forecast and minus 11 temperatures.

Jenny Hagan is a severe weather specialist in the Kindersley area.

She’s watching the road conditions and said things are changing rapidly.

“We’re starting to see conditions deteriorate, especially out on those roadways both east and west those roads are starting to drift up,” she said.

Snow just started moving into west central #Saskatchewan and we are already seeing drifting on East West roads. Expect road conditions to change rapidly with this incoming #skstorm pic.twitter.com/UKVhN2nDD5

— Jenny Hagan LostInSk (@LostInSk) November 23, 2024

She said we can expect to see heavy snowfall in the area and encourages people to check the Highway Hotline or local Facebook groups before hitting the roads.

As of 11 a.m. on Saturday, the snow was light.

“Luckily with this system we’re not supposed to see too crazy wind gusts,” she said. “But 40 km/h winds is enough to blow that light loose snow with these colder temperatures around, so visibility will come down as the snow becomes heavier.”

For anyone who has to travel around the province, Hagan encourages people to be prepared.

“If anybody’s travelling, you’re going to want your winter safety kit, so warm blankets, candles, just in case you get stranded,” she said.

“Definitely carry your winter gear with you like winter boots, toque, mitts, everything to stay warm. If you’re travelling longer distance, it’s always good to as well to take food along with you — food and water, just in case you end up stranded.”

Winter storm coverage is Hagan’s specialty, she’s been doing this for 14 years.

“What I always tell people is, what it looks like in town isn’t often what it’s going to be like when you hit those highways,” she said.

“So I take an opportunity to be just outside of town, being able to show you what those conditions are like out there. That might encourage some people to just stay put rather than travelling out on those roadways.”

Chris Warren, director of roadways and transportation, said the city was scheduled to wrap up its systematic plow — which covers all of Regina’s major roads — on Friday afternoon after 10 cm of snow fell on Tuesday through Wednesday.

“We know that keeping our roads safe is a top priority, and we’ll have crews working around the clock to tackle the storm,” Warren said.

Warren said the city didn’t have as much time to prepare for this storm as it normally would, due to still dealing with the effects of earlier storm.

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“We do have our full complement of equipment and resources, that includes both our internal crews and our contracted crew,s ready to go for this upcoming storm,” Warren said.

“Typically we’ll be in a response to clear open major roads, major intersections, perimeter roads, and those neighborhoods on the perimeter during the storm and the snowfall.”

Warren said some of the areas on the city’s perimeter are at risk of becoming impassable due to drifting and blowing snow.

“If there is a road that’s blocked in or impassable, we would just ask residents to call Service Regina, either through the phone or through the website,” he said.

“Let us know that there’s a problem with the road. We have people looking at those service requests, inspecting them, and then assigning the work, if work is needed.”

Chris Warren, director of roadways and transportation with the City of Regina. (Screengrab)

Warren said he expects the city to have about 50 pieces of equipment working throughout the weekend.

Warren said the storm earlier in the week didn’t trigger a residential plow as the city received 10 cm of snow instead of the 15 cm required for a plow of Category 5 (residential) roads.

However, Warren acknowledged the city still received several calls about blocked impassable residential roads.

“We have spent a considerable amount of time over the last number of days on some of those residential roads where they’ve been blocked or had some severe drifting of snow, and making sure that we’re making those open and passable,” Warren said.

— with files from Nicole Garn, 980 CJME

Read more:

• Regina snowstorm nearly doubles service at Carmichael Outreach
• Man taken to hospital with serious injuries after snowmobile flips in Saskatoon
• B.C. man dies in collision with semi near Regina