Travel advisories remain as blizzard rolls into central, southern Sask.

A powerful winter storm is rolling into Saskatchewan, bringing freezing rain, lots of snow and high winds into central and southern areas of the province, and leaving some major highways closed for most of the morning.

A blizzard warning from Environment Canada covered large areas of the province on Wednesday, with the weather service warning that 10-20 cm of snow could fall, with even higher snowfall totals expected in some regions.

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Meteorologist Dan Fulton said the storm will hit southwestern communities first, with freezing rain and high winds expected.

“As that pushes eastward, towards Moose Jaw and Regina, we’ll see the freezing rain mixed with snow beginning in Regina this morning, and we’ll have that for a little while, but then as the afternoon rolls around winds are going to kind of shift to be a bit more northeasterly, bringing colder air in,” Fulton explained.

“That’ll get rid of the freezing rain, but at that point we’re going to have pretty heavy snow and fairly strong winds, so we’re expecting blizzard conditions in the Regina, Qu’Appelle River Valley there to develop sometime this afternoon and then continue into the evening, with a decent amount of snow.”

Blizzard, wind and extreme cold warnings covered large areas of Saskatchewan on Wednesday morning. Environment Canada says snowfall in excess of 20 cm could fall in some areas. Meanwhile, extreme cold warnings were in effect for northern portions of the province. (Environment Canada)

Fulton said the Regina area can expect 7 to 12 cm of snow, though he noted that it’s hard to make an accurate estimate about how much snow will accumulate on the ground because of the high winds.

In Saskatoon, Fulton said the air is colder so commuters in the Bridge City won’t need to worry about a risk of freezing rain, but the snow will begin to fall on Wednesday morning, with about 10 cm expected to fall by the end of the day.

Temperatures are expected to fall throughout the afternoon, Fulton noted, with a very cold day expected on Thursday.

“In terms of snowfall, looks like the heaviest will probably be around the Yorkton area. It gets heavier as you move towards the Manitoba border,” Fulton said.

Travel expected to be treacherous on Wednesday

When it comes to travel, Fulton said the best plan is to postpone any trips until after the storm passes.

“I sure wouldn’t plan any travel between cities or towns or in the countryside this afternoon, and certainly not this evening as things really ramp up,” he said.

“There’s going to be near-zero visibility eventually, and extremely poor driving conditions. I expect roads will be closed later this afternoon. Into this evening I’m pretty sure we’ll see some closures, so you might not even get where you want to go.”

A stretch of Highway 1 between Swift Current and Moose Jaw was closed due to a crash involving a semi, according to the hotline. The crash, and a big line of drivers waiting to pass through the area, could be seen on the hotline’s traffic cameras on Wednesday.

A crash on Highway 1 near the community of Secretan was visible on the Highway Hotline’s traffic cameras on Wednesday morning. A stretch of Highway 1 between Moose Jaw and Swift Current has been closed as a result of the crash. (Saskatchewan Highway Hotline)

According to the RCMP, the semi caught fire after the crash.

“Officers are on scene and report that both lanes of Highway #1 in the area are closed for an undetermined amount of time,” the Saskatchewan RCMP noted in a statement.

“The road conditions are very poor in the area due to ongoing freezing rain, so please slow down as you approach.”

A stretch of Highway 342 between the communities of Beechy and Kyle was also closed to traffic on Wednesday morning, along with stretches of highways 19 and 363 near Hodgeville.

The Saskatchewan Highway Hotline was recommending against travel on many highways in the Regina, Swift Current, Moose Jaw and Leader areas on Wednesday morning.

Police urged drivers to check the weather and road conditions before hitting the roads.

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

The Mounties also asked the public to refrain from calling 9-1-1 for updates on road conditions, noting that the emergency line is reserved for crimes in progress or other serious emergencies.

Terry Palaschak, a first responder from Buffalo Pound, said he was driving into Moose Jaw on Wednesday morning, and described extremely slippery conditions.

“You can’t even walk. If you’ve got to walk, put on the ice picks, otherwise you’ll be wiping out left, right and centre,” he told 650 CKOM in a phone interview.

He said his truck slid sideways for about 10 feet after simply trying to pull into a driveway.

“If you don’t have to go out, don’t,” he said.

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

If you have a weather-related news tip or photos to share, send an email to webnews@rawlco.com or text us at 1-877-332-8255.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Abby Zieverink and 650 CKOM’s Libby Gray