‘It’s messy’: Sask. highways in rough shape as blowing snow reduces visibility

Highways across Saskatchewan were in rough shape on Friday as blowing snow and high winds led to drifting and serious issues with visibility.

According to the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline, all major routes leading in and out of Regina, including the Regina Bypass, were closed early on Friday morning due to the inclement weather, while travel was not recommended on many other routes east of Saskatoon and in the southeastern corner of the province. Conditions were gradually improving as the morning progressed, however, with most highways re-opening.

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Wind and blowing snow advisories from Environment Canada blanketed southern and southwestern Saskatchewan on Friday morning, with the weather service warning that travel will be treacherous, with “near-zero visibility” and wind gusts up to 100 km/h. By 12:30 p.m., the only weather alert still in effect was a blowing snow advisory covering areas south of Regina to the U.S. border.

Shannon Moodie, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the strong winds that blew into the province on Thursday are still causing some issues.

The wind has blown snow into some neighbourhoods like Harbour Landing. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

“Yesterday we saw some pretty significant winds move through much of central and southern Saskatchewan. We still are seeing some pretty gusty winds, and wind warnings are still in effect for the southernmost regions of Saskatchewan. We will see those winds begin to diminish throughout the day,” Moodie said.

“And there were some flurries that moved through Saskatchewan, leading to some reduced visibility, some blowing snow.”

Moodie said the issues with visibility were creating difficult conditions on the roads.

“On the Saskatchewan highway site, there are quite a few highways that travel is not recommended, and some closed highways in the vicinity of Regina, so it’s messy,” the meteorologist said.

“Things are improving this morning, but there still are a lot of horrible travel conditions.”

Blowing snow was causing issues with visibility in Regina on Friday, as well as on the surrounding highways. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Wind mainly impacted Regina’s northwest end

Chris Warren, director of roadways and transportation with the City of Regina, said the city’s northwest end had been the main area of focus in its response to the wind.

Warren told media on Friday afternoon that it was a problem area, long with areas along Regina’s outskirts and other exposed locations like parks and fields.

Warren said it was difficult to tell the exact amount of snowfall the city received, but said crews estimated it was around two centimetres.

“Control trucks are patrolling all districts and treating trouble spots as they develop. We will continue to patrol these areas until the winds die down and the road conditions improve,” he said.

“Some road sections are slippery, and we are asking residents to drive with caution and to adjust to the changing conditions. The city has access to over 50 pieces of city-owned equipment, including graders, sanders and sidewalk clearing machines. The city can also rely on external contractors to help the snow response when needed.”

The City of Regina generally has crews scheduled to work seven days a week and 20 hours a day as part of its winter maintenance shift.

For storm situations like this weather event, the city increases those hours to 24, which often results in overtime work.

Mounties responding to weather-related crashes

The Saskatchewan RCMP said officers were busy on Friday morning responding to multiple crashes around the province.

“Saskatchewan RCMP officers are at the scene of a multiple vehicle pile-up near the intersection of Highway 46 and Highway 1, southwest of Balgonie, SK. Highway #46 is closed for an undetermined amount of time,” the Mounties said in a statement.

“Officers are also responding to a collision on Highway 10, south of the 364 junction, near Edgeley. There are other reports of vehicles in the ditch and poor road conditions in the southern parts of the province.”

Police said ice, snow-covered roads, drifting and blowing snow and strong winds are all causing issues on Saskatchewan’s roadways, and advised drivers to use extra caution.

“Before travelling, check the weather and road conditions along your route,” the RCMP said. “If poor weather or road conditions exist or are forecasted, consider delaying travel if possible. If travel is necessary, stay on roads that have recently received road maintenance.”

The latest updates on the weather alerts can be found on Environment Canada’s website, and current information on highway conditions can be accessed through the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline.

Colleen Stephen (L) and Mayor Brian Bogdan (R) pose for a photo with some of the people who stayed overnight in their town Thursday night. (Colleen Stephen/Submitted)

RCMP receives over 70 calls

Saskatchewan RCMP said it had received 44 reports of collisions or rollovers between 6 p.m. Thursday and 10:30 a.m. Friday. Mounties also say they received 28 reports of traffic hazards within that time frame.

RCMP spokesperson Mandy Maier said the calls range from cars in ditches to jack-knifed semis and everything in between.

She said RCMP has received reports of injuries, but nothing it could specifically report on as of Friday morning.

Maier discouraged people from driving on the highways if they don’t need to, especially since visibility has been severely impacted.

“I can’t imagine going out on the open roadways – which many of them are closed, or were this morning around Regina – if you can’t see a vehicle coming towards you,” she said.

Maier said most of the calls have been from around the Regina, Fort Qu’Appelle and Prince Albert areas, with Regina leading the way.

Dan Palmer with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways also urged people to check the Highway Hotline before heading out on the roads.

Saskatchewan hospitality

On Thursday night, Colleen Stephen, a town councillor with Qu’Appelle, realized the bad weather might prevent people from travelling on the roads.

“Our local bar has wing night. There were a couple of different faces in the bar.

“We overheard them saying, ‘I guess we’re staying here for a little while.’ So at that point we realized that everything was closed around us and we might be expecting more visitors for the evening,” she said in a phone interview with 980 CJME.

The 50 Plus Club, the town’s senior centre, put a call out to see who had air mattresses or zero-gravity chairs.

“We all hunkered down in the hall,” she said.

“Some of the people that were still over at the bar, they sent over some pizzas. We ended up having some cold pizza for breakfast this morning. I think there were a few going to be heading over to our double tea grocery store as well for bacon and eggs this morning,” she said.

Fifteen people stayed the night in Qu’Appelle on Thursday night. Six people heading north to Fort Qu’Appelle and Melville, and one person was still waiting for the Regina roads to open.

“We had five immigrants who had only been in Canada for maybe two years maximum. And so that was an eyeopener for them as well. It was interesting, said Stephen.

“The people that that I met were just so gracious. And it was a very nice evening in a cold Saskatchewan way.”

– with files from 650 CKOM’s Marija Robinson, 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie and Daniel Reech