Spring snowstorm expected to hammer southern, central Sask. on Monday

Saskatchewan is in for quite a weather reversal this weekend.

The forecast for Sunday in both Regina and Saskatoon is showing sunny weather with temperatures reaching as high as 13 C in both cities.

“Sunday is going to be quite a nice day, very mild,” Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said Friday.

“Then — BOOM — Monday hits. (It’ll bring) snow, blowing snow, falling temperatures and really, really strong wind gusts.”

Lang is forecasting around eight centimetres of snow to fall across southern and central Saskatchewan with winds gusting between 90 and 100 kilometres per hour.

The high in Saskatoon on Monday is expected to be -3 C, with a low of -16 C. In Regina, the high is to be 2 C, with a low of -14 C.

The brunt of the storm is expected to arrive Monday with conditions worsening as the day continues.

Lang offered a reminder: This isn’t the light type of snow that will drift along a driveway.

“It will have some weight to it. It’s also going to have some velocity behind it, too” she said. “The temperature will be falling throughout the day, so that’s part of the problem.”

While snow will initially melt on contact, falling temperatures and powerful wind gusts throughout Monday will quickly reduce visibility and create icy road conditions.

“With the wet snow, there’s always that possibility it sticks to things, and that can lead to power outages and that type of thing. I think Monday is going to be quite a messy day,” Lang said.

Lang advised against any travel plans Monday as the storm moves east through Alberta on Sunday evening before arriving in Saskatchewan on Monday morning.

“We’re still in spring in Saskatchewan. We always get a couple good snowstorms and it’s going to be quite cold,” Lang said.