‘Get worse before it gets better’: Eastern Sask. hit with snowstorm

Many people across the province are waking up to the white stuff, and lots of it.

Penny Bell was digging out of her driveway with her snow blower making slow progress in northeast Regina.

“Today is bad because the snow is too wet,” she said.

She said it has taken twice as long to plough her driveway because of the sticky snow getting stuck in the machine’s teeth.

“If it was nice fluffy snow, this would have taken us half an hour,” Bell said.

Down the street, Brad Seibel dug out his shovel for the second time that day.

“The wind, it just keeps blowing the snow back where you shovelled,” he said.

Seibel said he’s staying off the roads if he can help it, to avoid slippery, ugly conditions.

Saskatchewan RCMP said officers had received reports of 44 weather-related collisions and incidents throughout the province up until mid-afternoon, with vehicles ending up in a ditch and jackknifed semis the most common. No one has been injured, police said.

RCMP also said southbound lanes of Highway 16 at Beam Road, northwest of Saskatoon, and northbound lanes of Highway 11, north of Bethune, are closed, and motorists should check the highway hotline before travelling.

Areas in eastern Saskatchewan, Regina and Saskatoon can expect to see another 10 to 15 centimetres throughout the day Tuesday according to Environment Canada meteorologist James Colangelo.

This is on top of the four to five cm that fell overnight.

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Some areas are also expected to see wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour.

“So lots of snow and blowing snow in the forecast for the next day or so here,” Colangelo said. “Then as that system pushes out eastward, we’ll see kind of a gradual reprieve of the snow overnight into Wednesday morning. Then we’re just looking at cool temperatures with that system departing.”

In Regina, Colangelo said the city can expect another 10 cm Tuesday and a few more into the night. Wind gusts will pick up into the afternoon to around 60 km.

“It will get worse before it gets better in Regina, unfortunately,” he said.

Regina is in a snowfall warning.

As of 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday, most of eastern Saskatchewan was in a snowfall warning. (Environment Canada/screenshot)

This system is coming from the west, but it will let up for a bit.

“We’ll see a little bit of reprieve from the snow for Thursday, Friday and then we’ll see more on the weekend,” Colangelo said.

As of right now, only a few cm is expected to fall on the weekend.

Saskatoon is similar to Regina, it’s expected to see another 10 cm fall on Tuesday.

“Definitely still going to be bad for them, though the snow will ease up a little bit sooner in Saskatoon than Regina,” he said. “So the snow will kind of ease up overnight tonight.”

Saskatoon can also expect to see wind gusts of up to 60 km.

The same system that hits Regina on the weekend will also hit Saskatoon.

“It’s another system that pushes in from the west,” Colangelo said. “Like Regina, it’s going to be the same system, and again not expecting too much snow at this time, maybe just maybe five cm or so.”

Colangelo encourages everyone to proceed with extra caution on the roads and to give yourself extra time when travelling.

The latest information on the winter storm warnings can be found on Environment Canada’s website.

— with files from 980 CJME’s Abby Zieverink and Gillian Massie