Snowfall warning results in slushy, slippery roads outside Regina

A snowfall warning remained over Regina on Tuesday morning as well as parts of southern Saskatchewan.

Areas covered by the warning included those from Swift Current to Yorkton, with 10 to 15 centimetres of snow in the forecast.

Speaking early Tuesday morning, Environment Canada meteorologist Sandy Massey said there was not much accumulation due to warm temperatures on the ground.

However, she warned that conditions could change and change quickly.

“Where temperatures near zero, any kind of snow melting can refreeze and cause some slippery conditions so be careful if you’re travelling out there. There could be some icy patches and some reduced visibility and falling snow,” Massey said.

“Just depending on where you are, if there’s a shady area, the ground can be a little bit cooler and just freeze faster and it could be a sudden icy patch.”

Those were the kinds of conditions observed by drivers during the morning rush.

Kirk Hess was driving between Balcarres and Melville. He saw a semi-truck stuck on a hill near Fort Qu’Appelle. The RCMP was unable to reach the scene because of slick roads, he said.

“(It’s) a sheet of ice,” Hess said of the highway, with motorists driving well below the speed limit. “It’s about 70 kilometres an hour on four-wheel drive.”

In his view, visibility was fair.

“(It’s) a little bit foggy, misty …,” he said. “The highway’s really bad but visibility’s good.”

Hess suggested drivers delay travel plans until sanding trucks have been out.

To the west of Regina, Michael Owens, a tow truck driver, described “slushy, ice-covered roads” on the Trans-Canada Highway from Moose Jaw.

Owens pulled three cars from the ditch in the morning.

“They just lost control,” Owens said. “(They were) travelling too fast, probably … Slow down and take your time.”

In Massey’s forecast, the snow was expected to end in Regina on Tuesday afternoon.