Winter storm pummels southern Saskatchewan

Southern Saskatchewan continues to be battered by a winter snow storm that made its way into the province overnight.

Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for much of southern Saskatchewan Sunday after a weather system moved into the province from Alberta, bringing snow and strong winds.

Road conditions were hazardous as slush and snow made for extremely slippery conditions along the Trans Canada Highway, forcing closures from Swift Current to the Alberta border.

Cory Logan is a tow truck operator in Gull Lake, one of the hardest hit areas of the storm. He feels helpless to be stuck indoors as motorists are stranded on the side of the road.

“Calls are coming in like crazy, but we can’t even make it out to them because the highways are closed,” he said. “There’s people all over the highway. It’s terrible out there. No one should be on the road today.”

He saw many close calls before the closures.

“One RCMP (vehicle), a semi driver just about slid into him because he came in there way too fast,” Logan said. “There’s lots of hard snow, slush and water over the highway.”

Snow accumulation is forecast to be as high as 30 centimetres.

Non-essential travel is not recommended until conditions improve.

The storm is expected to pass by late Sunday.

Crashes, advisories on highways

Highway Hotline is not recommending travel for a variety of roads in the southern half of the province. Travel is not recommended in the Swift Current region, and winter driving conditions are in effect from Kindersley to Melville.

Rural RCMP were responding to “a number” of crashes along the Trans Canada Highway Sunday.

Drivers are being asked to be careful near the collisions and to be mindful of emergency personnel on scene.