Environment Canada lifts all warnings for Saskatchewan

After a severe winter storm hit Saskatchewan over the weekend, the worst appears to be over.

Environment Canada has lifted blizzard, snowfall and winter storm warnings for the province.

However, meteorologist Shannon Moodie said Monday morning the effects will last a while.

“Weather conditions are certainly going to be improving today but that’s not to say that the ramifications from those weather conditions that happened overnight and yesterday are going to be improving,” Moodie said.

“So it’s it’s going to take time to to clear the roads and just to be patient with that and definitely if you have to travel anywhere.”

Moodie suggested those who need to travel should check Highway Hotline first.

By Monday morning, conditions in Regina had improved, with winter driving conditions shown on roads like the Regina Bypass, Highway 11 and the Trans-Canada Highway.

Shortly after 9 a.m., the “travel not recommended” alert for the Trans-Canada from Moose Jaw to Swift Current was removed. By mid-afternoon, the highway from Swift Current to the Alberta border had been reopened.

Throughout the day, the Highway Hotline was lifting its warnings for most roads outside Saskatoon and other main centres.

Within the City of Saskatoon, residents had to dig through the snow to get to their vehicles and, even then, struggled to drive through the blanketed streets.

The city’s fire department had also added ATVs and snow craft, which they used to patrol for stranded vehicles.

According to Environment Canada, Kindersley received the most snow in the province, with 35.8 centimetres falling. That’s a record for single-day snowfall for the city, breaking the previous mark of 21.3 cm from March 17, 1974.

Environment Canada said Prince Albert got 37 cm of snow, with Codette (33), Saskatoon (31), Limerick (31), Strasbourg (20), Regina (15 to 20), Holbein (15) and Emma Lake (11) also getting into double digits.

The highest wind gust measured during the storm was in Assiniboia, where it was clocked at 85 kilometres per hour. Leader (81 km/h) and Eastend (76 km/h) also recorded gusts above 75 km/h.

Moodie confirmed it was the southwest region that got hit the hardest.

“They were expected to get the most snow so there weren’t exactly any surprises there. But just based on reports from Twitter … it looks like they received definitely the bulk of the snow and they also got some some pretty significant northerly winds as well. So they did get those blizzard conditions yesterday,” she said.