The ‘historic’ Prairie storm continues through the southeastern corner of the province. Environment Canada said an expected accumulated snow dump is still to come in this region.
“Winds are really starting to pick up, gusting as high as 75 km/h,” said Terri Lang, Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist.
“So the combination of both the the wind and the falling snow is really reducing those visibilities and really starting to pile up.”
According to Lang, the snow started moving across the border close to around suppertime last night and then slowly crept northward and westward, and by this morning it was in full swing.
So far, at least 10 cm has fallen, it’s estimated, and probably a lot more as Lang said a snow dump was expected on Wednesday afternoon for Estevan and area.
“We’re still kind of in the backwash of the storm. The heaviest snow will have pulled off into Manitoba, but we’ll still see a lot of snow in and around southern Saskatchewan,” said Lang.
“The winds will still be gusty, so I still expect to see some reduced visibility and snow and blowing snow and still some issues on those highways.”
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways said that there are a number of highways in the southeastern corner of the province that are closed and that have been deemed as ‘travel not recommended’ such as parts of Highway 39 southeast, Highway 18 extending east and west of Estevan all the way to the Manitoba border.
“We’re seeing some challenging conditions and operators are doing their best to keep up with the roads,” said Steve Shaheen, Ministry of Highways senior communications consultant. “In certain situations, roads are closed, closures and travel not recommended. Advisories are currently in place.”
In a release, the Saskatchewan RCMP stated they have not received many road condition calls yet, but that could change as the snowfall continues.
“Detachments are reporting zero visibility/white-out conditions — there are currently lots of highway closures in the area on the Highway Hotline map,” stated RCMP.
“Please refrain from travelling in these areas if possible. If things look clear/roads okay at your planned time of departure, make sure you still check the forecast and Highway Hotline as weather and road conditions can change very quickly.
Environment Canada, Saskatchewan Highways and the Saskatchewan RCMP are encouraging residents if you can’t reschedule your travel plans, please ensure you’re well prepared with warm clothes, an emergency kit and a fully-charged cellphone.
It’s also advised to share your travels plans with someone and check in with them regularly.