A late-season winter storm has left thousands without power in Saskatchewan and roads an icy mess.
The storm pushed into western Saskatchewan early Monday and by noon had reached central regions of the province.
SaskPower said as of Monday evening, 14,500 customers were without power.
“We have experienced a large number of outages as a result of the storm, ranging from Maple Creek to Prince Albert,” said SaskPower spokesperson Scott McGregor in a statement.
“A number of these communities will be without power overnight, as conditions remain unsafe to work in.”
McGregor said crews were working to restore power as conditions allow.
SaskPower said power has been restored to Beechy, Birsay, Lucky Lake and the surrounding rural areas.
Crews expect to have power restored to customers south of Elrose to Kyle and southeast of Eatonia by 12 p.m. Tuesday.
Customers west of Luseland in the Heart Hills area should have power back by 1 p.m., SaskPower said in its latest update, while power is estimated to be back around 2 p.m. for customers southeast of Macklin.
Most highways in western and central Saskatchewan were closed at the height of the storm, but all have since reopened.
The latest road conditions can be found on Saskatchewan’s Highway Hotline map online.
In Saskatoon, city officials said crews are applying de-icing material on high-traffic streets, bridge decks and intersections.
They said road conditions in the city should improve throughout the day and into Wednesday with the application of de-icing material and warmer temperatures.