Snowfall warning issued for areas of southwest Saskatchewan

Parts of southwest Saskatchewan can expect winter-like weather to begin Wednesday evening.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for areas around Shaunavon, Maple Creek, Val Marie and Cypress Hills.

The weather services said 15 to 20 centimetres of snow are expected. The heavy snow is expected to begin Thursday morning.

“A low pressure system over Montana will bring heavy snowfall to southwestern Saskatchewan beginning early Thursday morning,” Environment Canada said. “The greatest accumulations will be over higher terrain, where totals could reach 25 cm by Friday morning.

“Along with heavy snowfall, there will be a risk of freezing rain with this system Thursday into Friday.”

There’s also a special weather statement in place for other areas of the southwest advising residents of some potentially nasty weather Thursday.

“A cool, northerly flow will cause temperatures to drop rapidly Wednesday night,” the statement said. “Precipitation will start as rain overnight on Wednesday, but as temperatures drop to just below zero by Thursday morning, the rain will transition to wet snow.”

While some of that snow may melt as it hits the ground, Environment Canada said it could be coming down “quite heavy” on Thursday, which would result in accumulation.

“Current guidance on how much snow will accumulate on the ground is highly variable,” the statement added. “There is also a risk of freezing rain Thursday afternoon and overnight, specifically from Shaunavon to Swift Current and eastward.”

A special weather statement regarding air quality in the Prince Albert area remains in place. Smoke from the wildfire in that area is causing visibility issues and could cause health concerns.

More information is available on the Environment Canada alerts page.