Winter storm to leave Saskatchewan by Friday morning

Parts of Saskatchewan were thrown into a snow globe Wednesday and Old Man Winter wouldn’t stop shaking it.

Winter storms and heavy snowfall wrought havoc on the southeastern corner of the province.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada,  snowfall warnings were still in effect for Regina and Moose Jaw on Thursday morning. Winter storms warnings that were in place for areas around Estevan, Weyburn and Carlyle were lifted later in the morning, but snowfall warnings remained in place.

However, the storm continues to affect highways.

The Highway Hotline said a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway was closed Thursday morning, but it was reopened later in the morning. That said, travel wasn’t recommended on the No. 1 from Belle Plaine to Whitewood.

There also was a crash between two semis east of Belle Plaine that was blocking eastbound lanes, and a two-truck crash on the Trans-Canada east of Indian Head that was blocking eastbound lanes.

As of 10:45 a.m., Highway 11 was closed between Davidson and the intersection with No. 2, Highway 33 was closed from Sedley to Stoughton, Highway 35 was shut down from Qu’Appelle to the U.S. border, and Highway 48 was closed from Emerald Park to Peebles.

Travel also wasn’t recommended on the Regina Bypass, the No. 11 from Regina to the No. 2, and other highways northeast of Regina and east of Saskatoon. More information can be found on the Highway Hotline website.

In a media release issued Wednesday evening, the RCMP said officers had responded to 50 calls relating to road conditions.

“Callers are reporting driving conditions are deteriorating rapidly and vehicles, including semis, are stopping on the side of highway in the southeast part of the province,” the Mounties said.

The RCMP said that included a collision between a semi and a charter bus in the eastbound lane of the Trans-Canada just east of Sintaluta. The Mounties said initial reports were that one man was seriously injured in the crash.

Meteorologist Chris Stammers said around 13 centimetres of snow fell on the Queen City, with the southeast seeing the highest snowfall from this storm.

“About 30 centimetres (fell) in the Weyburn area,” he added. “The worst of it is over.”

Stammers said Regina should get around seven more centimetres of snow by the end of Thursday.

“It looks like overnight (Thursday), we could have a little bit of light snow with no accumulation really. Finally, by Friday morning, we’ll be done with this snow,” the meteorologist added.

He said wind gusts reached just under 70 kilometres per hour in Regina on Wednesday.

“Estevan and Carlyle (had) even stronger winds … but not that much stronger,” he added.

Stammers said even though temperatures are slow to rebound, the forecast is calling for a high of almost 10 C on Monday.

“That snow won’t be sticking around too long and it looks like … (Regina will see) seasonal or just slightly below seasonal temperatures for next week,” the meteorologist said.

According to Stammers, the snowfall warnings should be lifted by Thursday afternoon.