Major winter storm to hit Saskatchewan over the weekend

Saskatchewan residents are being told to brace for a wicked winter storm.

Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says people should be prepared for a lot of snow along with freezing rain in parts of the province.

“While the weather’s nice like this, people should be getting their yard ready. Get those leaves off the ground, get them out of the gutters, get out your snow shovel and (get) your snow tires on as well as getting your emergency kit ready for your car,” Lang said Thursday. “Take this time when the weather’s nice to get ready for the storm that is coming.”

Lang described the upcoming storm as “major,” saying there isn’t any doubt in her mind that it will be significant.

“We haven’t seen one of these for a number of years,” Lang said. “We ask that people really pay attention to the weather warnings that will come out as well as check the Highway Hotline. If people have to venture out over the weekend, please reconsider changing your plans, especially on Sunday.”

Snow will start to move into the province throughout Saturday, before very heavy snowfall begins on Sunday. Freezing rain is expected in the southeast region of the province.

“Everybody will get snow,” she added. “The southeast portion of the province is going to get freezing rain and how far west that progresses is the big question mark right now.”

Strong winds and more than a foot of snow are expected throughout central and southwest Saskatchewan.

“The central sections and more western sections of the province will have the first shot of snow, which looks like about 10 to 15 centimetres to begin with on Saturday,” Lang said. “And then the real heavy stuff will start moving in overnight Saturday into Sunday and spread across most of the south throughout the day.”

Regina in particular could see a little over a foot of snow, along with the possibility of freezing rain.

“Regina is going to be right on the edge between the snow and freezing rain at this time. Regina could get between 20 and 40 centimetres of snow and that’s a big range only because they’re going to be quite close to that line,” Lang said.

“Record-breaking snowfall is not out of the question, but it’s hard to determine right now.”

City says it’s ready

In a media release later Thursday, the City of Regina said it will have about 60 pieces of equipment ready to respond to the storm.

“During a snow event, we work to keep major roads drivable by plowing snow and applying ice control at high-risk intersections,” the city said. “This means our focus is on roads with the greatest volume of traffic, high-speed roads and emergency routes. This pattern continues until the snow has stopped falling.”

With the civic election set for Monday, the city said it will have crews out Sunday night to ensure major roads and those near polling stations will be clear.

If the total accumulation of snow is 25 centimetres or more, plows first will work on major roads like Albert Street, Lewvan Drive and Ring Road. They’ll then move to high-traffic roads like Elphinstone Street, Broadway Avenue and Regina Avenue before plowing residential roads.