Southeastern Saskatchewan residents prepare to hunker down in spring storm

As blizzard conditions continue to plow through southeastern Saskatchewan, residents and business managers are prepared to stay indoors.

Meteorologists anticipate as much as 50 cm of snowfall and gusting winds.

Grain farmer Lee Stanley said his family is ready to spend quality time together indoors while the storm passes through.

Stanley and his family are located about 15 miles from Carievale, Sask., and has farm lands in the extreme southeast corner of the province.

He also has lands on the Manitoba and U.S. borders.

2:31 Historic Blizzard: April 13 Saskatchewan weather outlook

While Stanley used to have cattle, he doesn’t anymore and said he feels for the farmers and ranchers who have to keep their livestock warm and safe.

“They don’t last very long — a newborn calf and weather like this. They come out soaking wet and they chill immediately. You have to get them into shelter and you have to get them dried often,” Stanley said.

Living in a rural part of the province, Stanley said his family is often prepared to stay home for a number of days with food on hand and generators to run their furnace and water systems if they lose power.

Stanley said this weather is actually a blessing for grain farmers.

“Because of the drought we suffered through last year, everything’s still fairly dry so we take moisture in any form we can get it,” Stanley said.

“This will be good. (The) biggest problem is going to be — it’s supposed to stay very cold for the next two weeks (and) the snow is going to stick around. It’s going to put a hamper on trying to get machinery ready and get into the field.”

Stanley said this will likely push seeding into the first week of May.

1:21 Storm arrives in Estevan

While the storm continues to blow through, Stanley said he plans on catching up on paperwork and spending time with family.

“My wife is home, my kids are home safe and we don’t get to spend a whole lot of time just being home together so we’re enjoying it,” Stanley said.

Meanwhile in Estevan, business managers are also preparing for the thick of the storm.

General manager of Days Inn Estevan Jeff Pierson said hotel guests who arrived Tuesday won’t be going anywhere on Wednesday.

“We didn’t see much traffic in our restaurant this morning so we just sent the staff home to safety and hopefully open up tomorrow,” Pierson said.

Pierson said the most important thing is making sure staff are safe and guests are comfortable in the event of a power outage.