Crews in Saskatoon and Regina ready to respond to weekend snowstorm

The cities of Saskatoon and Regina are gearing up in anticipation of a major weekend snowstorm.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting heavy snowfall for the southern part of Saskatchewan, including the province’s two largest cities.

About 20 centimetres — just under eight inches — of snow is expected to fall in Saskatoon, starting on Saturday around noon and continuing until Sunday night.

According to the city, crews and winter road maintenance equipment are at the ready for any snow that falls.

“We are fully prepared and we anticipate this storm to be similar to the snowstorm we experienced last weekend,” Goran Saric, the city’s director of roadways, said Friday.

Saric called it “challenging” to have two back-to-back snow events.

“It does put pressure on us to respond,” he said.

This storm could be the fifth snow event of the year for Saskatoon.

Heavy snow and gusty winds can be a recipe for deteriorating road conditions, according to a news release from the city. There’s anticipation that low visibility and drifting snow will make city streets difficult to navigate.

Residents were encouraged to stay off the roads as much as possible on Saturday evening and Sunday. People were urged to complete errands like grocery shopping and picking up medication on Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Anyone who must go out should adjust their driving to the conditions of the roads, leaving extra room while driving in case of sudden stops and watching for the blue and yellow flashing lights on road equipment. Drivers were reminded to stay at least 15 metres behind winter maintenance equipment.

The snowfall clearing plan includes city crews plowing Circle Drive, expressways and accesses to fire stations and hospitals to keep the accumulation of snow to a minimum and ensure drivers can navigate important roads to and around important destinations.

Priority streets will be plowed by city and contractor graders with sanders also deicing streets as necessary, starting on Circle Drive and other high-speed, high-traffic streets, bridges and intersections.

Streets considered top priority include those with three or more lanes like Circle, Idylwyld and College drives and 22nd Street. Those streets will be plowed within 12 hours of the end of the snowfall, according to the city, with Priority 2 streets — those with double lanes like Clarence and Miller avenues, McKercher Drive and Saskatoon transit routes — will be graded within 36 hours.

Streets classified as Priority 3 — including school zones, collector streets and those that travel through neighbourhoods — will be graded within 72 hours. Residential streets will be assessed for clearing after priority streets have been cleared.

‘We’re ready:’ Regina crews set for storm

Tyler Bien, the City of Regina’s manager of roadway operations, said crews are prepared for whatever the storm has in store for the Queen City.

“We’re ready and waiting for the snow to start so that we can get out there and start addressing any needs that the community has on the roadways,” Bien said.

If the city gets more than five centimetres of snow, crews will do a systematic plow. That means they would clear the city’s major roads and emergency routes first and then do Category 2 and 3 roads after that.

A residential plow would be ordered if more than 15 centimetres of snow falls. Crews also will be laying down a salt-and-sand mixture at intersections to deal with ice.

The forecast suggests the storm might include winds of up to 60 kilometres per hour, which could cause blowing snow and drifting on roads near open areas.

Bien urged drivers who plan to be on the roads to give themselves extra time, to plan their routes in advance on priority roads, and to give snow-clearing crews room to do their work.

“They’re out on the road,” Bien said. “We stay out there and do the work to try to make sure that everybody is safe (making it) to where they need to get to.”

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Mia Holowaychuk and 980 CJME’s Daniel Reech