Saskatchewan drivers dealing with effects of spring snowfall

A last-second effort by Mother Nature to extend winter has people in Saskatchewan feeling the effects.

Ditches across the province were littered with vehicles Wednesday after a spring snowfall.

According to the Highway Hotline, Highway 41 northeast of Saskatoon was closed in both directions about 10 kilometres from Aberdeen because a semi had jackknifed.

Semis also were jackknifed on Highway 14 near Biggar and on Highwy 45 near Danielson Provincial Park, and travel wasn’t recommended on a few roads around the province due to the conditions.

On Highway 14 between Perdue and Biggar, drivers had to slow down to 80 kilometres per hour due to the conditions.

Ashlea Muyres, who works at the Co-op in Perdue, said she was hearing from customers that people should avoid driving.

“It’s very icy. The graders have not been through here,” said Muyres.

Traffic remained steady despite the conditions, but Muyres said she was aware of some cars that ended up off the road.

“I was hearing that they have been seeing vehicles in the ditch,” she said. “I have even one person who is one of my vendors who can’t come in today because they ended up in the ditch.”

Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor said this winter weather is expected to leave the area by Friday morning.

“We’re expecting that low(-pressure system) to ever so slowly pull out eastwards over the next 36 to 48 hours,” Proctor said Wednesday afternoon.

Snowfall hasn’t been spread out evenly throughout the province with some sections getting far more snow than the others. Snowfall warnings remained in place for areas of northeastern Saskatchewan.

“In Saskatoon, we’ve had numerous reports of about 12 (or) maybe up to 15 centimetres of snow,” Proctor said. “By the time you get further south down to Regina, they see much less in the way of snowfall at this time.”

Proctor said cities further north like Prince Albert and Nipawin have seen even more snow. It has been a wet and heavy type of snow that has been mixed in with high winds.

Driving becomes a challenge in those conditions, but there is also more concern for the potential of losing power.

“SaskPower has reported some outages up in and around the area north of P.A.,” said Proctor.

While the heavy snowfall is bad when it comes to travelling, Proctor said farmers could be excited to see more precipitation before the beginning of their seeding season.

“It gives us more moisture available for springtime planting,” said Proctor. “It also helps to address some of the long-term drought concerns we have over portions of the province.”

The Water Security Agency has said in its spring runoff forecasts that some areas of the province can expect drought-like conditions, given the relative lack of snow over the winter.

While many hope this is the final snowfall before next winter, Proctor believes that may not be the case.