Late blast of Winter means more car accidents, no golf

REGINA – Motorists woke up to a wet surprise thought to be from a season of the past, leading to few more collisions than usual on Monday.

“On a day in April, you wouldn’t expect to have a lot of property damage collisions,” said Elizabeth Popowich, spokesperson for the Regina Police Service. “But when there’s a snowfall, it gets a little more complicated,”

Nine accidents were reported between 8 p.m. on Sunday night and noon on Monday, according to Popowich.

The RCMP also reported dozens of accidents in southern Saskatchewan on Monday morning.

It was also a busy night for road crews, but the city says that with 10 sanders and 14 graders available, it was prepared.

“In terms of shifting and equipment availability, most definitely we would be able to tackle most weather events at this time,” said Chris Warren, winter maintenance manager for the city.

Tor Hill Golf Course faced significantly less wet weather for its reopening on the weekend, but the greens weren’t open for long thanks to today’s dumping of snow.

“It was the first day that our unrestricted pass holders would have been able to play, so they’re a little mad that they were not able to get out and play today,” said Kevin Dietz, assistant golf professional at Tor Hill.

Still, the closure is par for the course.

“It’s not really unexpected, though; usually happens once a year after we open it,” he said.

While the white stuff melted quickly, some were still longing for a warm escape.

“We definitely notice an influx of inquiries coming in for people who haven’t travelled this year maybe but definitely want to make plans to travel for next year,” said Audra Langton, an Expedia CruiseShipCentres consultant.

Langton said that, even though most know the summer months are just around the corner, the cruel winter is a reminder to plan ahead.

“It’s Mother Nature’s way of saying, ‘Book now,’” she said.

But if Mother Nature continues this, she may be on the receiving nastier messages than that.