March in Saskatchewan can bring unpredictable weather. The first hints of spring will bring warmer temperatures, but it’s not uncommon to see snowstorms, complete with strong winds, blow through either.
That mix is a dangerous cocktail for highways that starts when a vehicle drives over the drifting snow, causing it to melt.
“Blowing snow over it cools it down, it freezes it again, forms ice, and then comes the next car,” said University of Regina Physics Professor Dr. George Lolos. “So you keep building ice extremely fast as long as you have people driving on it.”
Heavy wind isn’t a new phenomenon in Saskatchewan; farmers have been protecting their fields against it for a number of years, primarily by using shelterbelts.
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“Well designed, well planted and well maintained shelterbelts are very effective,” said Dr. John Kort, the head researcher at the AAFC Agroforestry Development Centre in Indian Head.
The centre focuses mainly on agricultural applications, but Dr. Kort says the science is similar when it comes to stopping snow from blowing across the highway.
“If you have a shrub shelterbelt, villosa lilac for instance will grow sort of to a maximum height of three or maybe four metres, and that’s a pretty effective snow trap.”
The highways ministry says shelterbelts are one tool when it comes to keeping roads safe, but it doesn’t rely on them too heavily because it would be impossible to maintain them for long stretches, creating even more dangerous conditions.
“Instead of having a constant, consistent set of driving conditions that they’re dealing with, then you see a variability, and that just adds to the challenge for drivers as well,” said Doug Wakabayashi, Assistant Communications Director with the Highways and Infrastructure Ministry.
Highways are designed to minimize drifting, and when there is a heavier amount of snow, temporary measures are implemented as well.
“Areas where we know there’s common trouble spots, we’ll do things like snow ridging for example,” said Wakabayashi. “Quite often we’ll get landowners or farmers to build snow ridges for us.”
Wakabayashi added that when the wind start blowing, and highway conditions become dangerous, it’s best for drivers to consult the highway hotline.
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