Snowdrifts on residential streets in Saskatoon were deeper than some snowblowers could handle on Sunday. (Brent Bosker/650 CKOM)
You can send photos or videos of the storm to webnews@rawlco.com.
Environment Canada says the major winter storm that began on Saturday is expected to continue through to Monday morning.
Winter storm warnings remained in effect across almost the entire province on Sunday after a low-pressure system blew into Saskatchewan from the northern United States.
According to the weather service, between 25 and 40 centimetres of snow could fall by the time the storm ends on Monday.
Tune in to 980 CJME and 650 CKOM for up-to-the-minute information on the storm, or listen live online.
“Snow and blowing snow will continue Sunday night before conditions improve Monday morning,” the weather service said in a statement.
“Near blizzard conditions are possible in some locales on Sunday.”
Let the big dig out, begin! Drifts are nearly 2 feet already. #yxe @CKOMNews pic.twitter.com/aE4fpajmh3
— Brent Bosker (@brentbosker) March 3, 2024
“It’s still ongoing, but slowly moving off to the northeast,” Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said on Sunday afternoon.
“The intensity of the snow has started to ease off.”
According to the weather service, the Saskatoon area can expect as much as 15 centimetres of snow on Sunday, and as much as another 10 centimetres overnight.
Lang estimated that between 29 and 37 centimetres of snow fell on Saskatoon over the weekend.
The areas around Regina can expect as much as 20 centimetres of snow to fall on Sunday, the weather service warned, with another four centimetres falling overnight.
While the snowfall is expected to taper off on Monday, Lang noted that blowing and drifting snow could still cause issues, as windspeeds are expected to pick up again overnight.
The alerts were lifted in the southwestern parts of the province on Sunday afternoon.
A lot of snowblowers will be running for the next few days after a major winter storm hit Saskatchewan. (Brent Bosker/650 CKOM)
The storm has created difficult road and highway conditions across Saskatchewan.
“Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve,” Environment Canada recommended.
According to the Highway Hotline, a number of highways remained closed on Sunday afternoon, while travel was not recommended on many routes around the province.
The latest information on highway conditions can be found on the Highway Hotline.
The hotline also has a new feature allowing users to track snowplows as they clear highways around the province.
Photos shared to the Facebook page of C95 showed difficult road conditions in the Saskatoon area on Saturday. (Colette Harrison/Facebook)
The City of Regina said snow routes will be in effect from 6 a.m. on Monday until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, to allow for snow to be cleared.
“This means there is no on-street parking along the identified routes for a 24-hour period,” the city said in a statement.
“This parking ban allows crews to plow the roads from curb to curb, improving traffic flow along the busy roadways. As well, it will help ensure roads are passable for emergency response vehicles.”
Any vehicles parked on snow routes may be ticketed, the city noted.
Starting at 6 a.m. Monday, March 4 there is no parking on the snow route until 6 a.m. Tuesday March 5. Vehicles that remain during the temporary parking ban will be ticketed. Sign up for alerts at https://t.co/zwX00fwqsw pic.twitter.com/EZtRkH0omS
— City of Regina (@CityofRegina) March 3, 2024
The City of Saskatoon said city workers and contractors are plowing, grading and sanding to keep the highest-priority streets passable during the storm.
“During this weekend’s snowfall, City crews will plow Circle Drive, expressways and accesses to Fire Stations and Hospitals to help minimize accumulation and maintain mobility and safety for motorists,” the City of Saskatoon said in a statement.
“City and contractor graders will grade city Priority Streets, and sanders will be applying de-icing material as required, beginning with Circle Drive and other high speed and high traffic streets, bridges and intersections.”
Goran Saric, the city’s roadways director, said he hopes all priority routes will be graded by Thursday. After that, he said residential streets will be graded in a process likely to take another three days, followed by industrial areas.
“The last phase of the plan is a citywide snow removal, which will be assessed and decided on in the coming days,” Saric noted during a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark asked residents for their patience as the roads are cleared and asked everyone to stay home on Sunday, if possible.
“If you have a light vehicle, the chance of getting stuck out there is higher,” Clark said.
“If you get stuck, it does put more strain on our emergency crews who are out there working as hard as they can to respond to everything that’s underway.”
A number of city facilities are also closed due to the storm.
https://twitter.com/charlieclarkyxe/status/1764327015174570214
