Southern Saskatchewan left in cleanup mode after winter blizzard

As a winter storm continues to blow through Regina and southern Saskatchewan, residents are left with icy highways and snow to shovel.

Throughout Friday night and into Saturday, 15 to 20 centimetres of snow fell in some places with winds gusting upwards of 65 kilometres an hour.

Police and firefighters in Regina were on the scene of a ‘major collision’ involving multiple semi-trailers Saturday morning.

Around 10 a.m. on March 11, Regina Fire tweeted about a collision on Highway 33 and Highway 6.

One person involved was extricated and taken to hospital.

“Please stay off the highways and obey all road closures during the storm,” Regina Fire said in a tweet.

Severe weather chaser Jenny Hagan wishes more people would heed to the restricted travel recommendations during these blizzards.

“It’s not just you that you’re putting at risk when you get out onto those roadways,” Hagan explained. “It’s emergency personnel that might be responding to you or someone else on those roads.”

Saskatchewan RCMP said they received multiple reports of non-fatal collisions along in the province due to the storm.

Throughout Saturday a number of highways were closed surrounding Regina including the Number 1 highway between Moose Jaw and Regina, as well as highways around Estevan.

As of 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the highways have been reopened though the Highway Hotline warns roads could still be slippery in spots.

For more information on current road conditions, visit the Highway Hotline.

According to Hagan, there were reports of five semi’s in the ditch between Eatonia and Rosetown.

“It kind of started around 11p.m. last night where it really got down to zero visibility and that continued through the evening hours,” Hagan said.

The City of Regina has also declared snow routes will be in effect starting on Sunday.

“This means there is no on-street parking along the identified routes for a 24-hour period. This parking ban allows crews to plow the roads from curb to curb, improving traffic flow along the busy roadways,” the city said in a press release.

From 6 a.m. on Sunday, March 12 there is no parking along the snow route until 6 a.m. Monday, March 13.

Vehicles which remain parked on the snow route during the temporary parking ban will be ticketed.

For now, Saskatchewan residents are left to shovel snow once again as winter continues on the prairies.

0:38 Regina road crews are standing by for expected weekend snow dump