Frigid 1st weekend of February sees extreme cold, wind

People in Saskatoon and Regina woke up to a thick blanket of snow on their lawns Saturday morning.

Environment Canada forecaster Brad Vrolijk said Saskatoon received up to five centimetres, or two inches, of snow overnight.

Meanwhile, Regina saw four centimetres in that time but continued to get snow throughout the morning.

The flurries continued in the Queen City Saturday morning, but Vrolijk noted it shouldn’t amount to much more.

“We’re not really expecting anything more than another centimetre or two at most,” he said.

Environment Canada issued extreme cold warnings across a large stretch of Saskatchewan for Saturday.

Vrolijk said a cold evening is in store, thanks to a ridge of arctic high pressure.

“It’s going to bring some colder air from the northern prairies south, and for quite a few spots in Saskatchewan, there could be windchill values of -40 to -45 C (Saturday) night,” he said.

The good news —for now — is it appears the frigid temperatures are a quick dip before milder weather.

“It looks like the coming week will still be below-normal temperatures for this time of year, but it won’t be as cold as what we’ll see (Saturday) night,” he said.

Environment Canada is calling for Saskatoon to see sunshine and a high -15 C Sunday, staying in the low minus teens throughout the week.

Similar conditions are expected for Regina.