Saskatchewan hit with snow, lingering wintery conditions remain

Plunging temperatures and high winds are set to follow close behind the wintery system that drifted through Saskatchewan.

Rose Carlsen, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the worst of the storm has passed over most of the province.

“We are still expecting lighter snow throughout the rest of the day,” said Carlsen. “(It’s) just kind of the lingering, hangback snow that we see behind these big systems.”

Many of the snowfall warnings have been lifted in central Saskatchewan after being issued by Environment Canada on Tuesday.

Carlsen said high winds up to 60 kilometres per hour are following the storm, which could lead to swirling snow and poor visibility on the highways.

As of 10:30 a.m., the Highway Hotline said travel wasn’t recommended on a number of highways in the eastern half of the province, including Highway 5 between Canora and the Manitoba border, Highway 10 between Melville and Yorkton and Highway 16 between Sheho and the Manitoba boundary.

“In behind (the storm) is where we are going to start getting the blast of arctic air everyone has been talking about for the past couple of days,” said Carlsen.

Temperatures already started to plunge into the -20s and -30s early on Wednesday morning.

The Alberta Clipper started at the western border of the province stretching from Prince Albert to Weyburn. As of Wednesday morning, the storm was continuing to move east out of the province.

Carlsen said the wintery system brought through a good “swath of snow” ranging anywhere from eight to 20 centimetres or three to 7.5 inches.

Saskatoon recorded between 10 and 15 cm or 4.5 to six inches of snow overnight. Regina was clipped by the bottom of the storm, and only recorded a few centimetres.