Much of Saskatchewan is digging out Monday morning, after a potent winter storm dumped large amounts of snow and freezing rain Saturday and Sunday.
Estimated totals vary between 20 and 50 cm, depending on location.
Environment Canada’s Shannon Moodie says conditions will continue to improve Monday morning west to east, with the Melfort, Nipawin and Tisdale areas still under warnings early on Monday.
“Right around midnight is when we started to see snow taper off and winds start to diminish for much of the province,” Moodie said. ” We saw some reports on Twitter that conditions had improved quite significantly for many regions, we’re just going to see that continued improvement throughout the morning on Monday,” she added.
Moodie says those needing to travel should still be checking the Highway Hotline before heading out as many roads saw extremely dangerous conditions throughout Sunday.
Highway 1 was closed from Swift Current to the Alberta border, with the rest of the highway right to Manitoba reporting travel not recommended conditions. Travel was also advised against on Highway 16 from the Alberta border to Wynyard, with Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Regina also reporting zero visibility and reports advising against travel.
Southwestern Saskatchewan appears to be the hardest hit region, and Saskatoon not far behind, with Moodie adding snowfall totals will be available on Environment Canada’s weather summary online, which should be published early Monday afternoon.
View out my kitchen window this evening #skstorm Eatonia
We will see in the morning how close the ground drift and the roof drift are to touching! pic.twitter.com/HGjBqqThno
— Jenny Hagan LostInSk (@LostInSk) November 9, 2020
“The area that seemed to be the hardest hit was southwestern Saskatchewan, they really got hit hard with snowfall and strong winds, so they seemed to be the area that was impacted the most,” Moodie said.
Holy cow…
BIG drifts forming now in Swift Current! #skstorm @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/DGYDJ3Oyvy
— Kyle Brittain (@KyleTWN) November 9, 2020
In Saskatoon high-schools are closed Monday, with reports of people stranded in vehicles in various parts of the city on Sunday.
It’s also municipal election day for many communities across the province, with the City of Regina saying on Friday that snow removal routes would be adjusted to accommodate areas around polling stations.
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