Fresh snow has blanketed parts of the province for the first time this year, and more is expected to be on the way.
According to Environment Canada, parts of southwestern and central Saskatchewan, including Regina and Saskatoon, could get two to four centimetres – or just over an inch of snow – by the end of Wednesday.
As the snow started falling overnight Tuesday, it stuck to the pavement, creating very slippery conditions as the swirling snow reduced visibility on highways across the province Wednesday morning.
Saskatchewan RCMP detachments on the west side of the province sent out a warning about treacherous conditions on all highways, urging people to avoid non-essential travel.
There were multiple reports of semis in the ditch and crashes on highways all over the west side of the province.
One person was killed when a car collided head-on with a gravel truck on Highway 5 east of Saskatoon.
There were multiple crashes reported in both Saskatoon and Regina through the morning as people adjusted to winter driving conditions.
Regina police recorded 22 crashes between midnight and 11 a.m. Wednesday. Saskatoon police reported eight crashes happened between 6-8:30 a.m.
Snow expected to stick around
Environment Canada Meteorologist John Paul Cragg said he does expect the snow to drop off by Wednesday evening, with a possibility of more flurries on Thursday.
“You’ll probably see some white stuff falling from the sky, but not much accumulation,” Cragg said.
“The same goes for Thursday, we have a low that’s swinging just to the south of the province and it looks like it will continue to bring some flurries into most of southern and central Saskatchewan over the next couple of days.”
Cragg said there could be even more snow on the way this weekend.
“The potential for snow increases and you could see some more accumulation, so Saturday and Sunday there’s the potential for five to 10 centimetres of snow with another system,” Cragg said.
“Over the next few days we are looking at a decent amount of snow falling in the Regina area.”
Once the snow ends, Cragg warned the cold may set in, with temperatures possibly dipping down to -15 C or even -20 C on Monday and Tuesday next week.