Sask. digs out after storm that dumped up to 30 cm of snow in some areas
St. Nicholas and Plainsview schools closed in Regina due to impassable roads
Highways across Saskatchewan remain treacherous as the province digs out from a two-system storm that brought up to 30 centimetres of snow to some areas Tuesday, closing roads and schools.
On Wednesday afternoon, Regina police advised people to avoid unnecessary travel in the evening due to poor road conditions. Officers responded to 10 crashes from 5 p.m. CST Tuesday to 4 p.m. CST Wednesday, according to a news release.
Police reminded motorists to give themselves extra driving during their winter commute.
Travel was risky is some parts of the province.
"Semi trucks and trailers were getting blown off the road," said Todd Davidson, owner of Davidson Truck and Tractor at Moosomin, 223 kilometres east of Regina.
Davidson said he pulled about 15 vehicles out of the ditch overnight Tuesday after a heavy snowfall and high winds made roads perilous.
"It was virtually impossible for them to even get traction once we got them back on the highway, it was so icy," Davidson said.
"We're seeing some of the worst driving conditions that you can have."
Highway 1 from Balgonie to the Manitoba border was closed overnight and re-opened Wednesday morning with travel still not recommended on the road.
Jitender Saini works at the Flying J Travel Center near Balgonie and said cars stretched for several kilometres along the highway from White City to Balgonie as he drove into work early Wednesday morning.
"It could be two or three, maybe five kilometres of lined-up trucks," Saini said.
Roads in the city weren't much better.
Both Regina Public Schools and Regina Catholic Schools cancelled bus service Wednesday, saying city streets were extremely dangerous.
Plainsview School and St. Nicholas School, both in the city's northwest, were closed due to impassable roads.
The coming weekend's forecast includes the possibility of more snow. Until then, Regina city crews are set to continue clearing snow on priority roads.
These Category 1, 2 and 3 streets include collector roads, expressways and transit routes. The city aims to have those cleared within 48 hours after a storm ends and they need to be cleared before plows start on residential streets.
Strong winds during this week's storm meant crews had to re-plow some streets, said Chris Warren, the city's director of roadways and transportation. But that wasn't the only problem.
"Blown in and drifting snow led to stranded and abandoned vehicles, further complicating our efforts," Warren said.
Crews are working around the clock to finish the priority streets before a possible weekend storm, he added.
"While we're involved in the systematic plowing of our major roads over the next two days, we'll also be planning and preparing to address any winter conditions that we receive on the weekend," Warren said.
"If we end up getting the large snow amount that we are forecasting, then the city would begin that process all over again."
Meteorologist says more storms on their way
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) meteorologists said the storm was actually two separate systems, one hitting the province Monday and the second moving in from the southeast Tuesday morning.
Shannon Moodie, an ECCC meteorologist, said the strength of the storm system wasn't unusual, but it came later in the season than most years.
"We typically get some monster systems moving through in the fall and we get them in the spring as well."
ECCC didn't have overnight snowfall totals Wednesday morning, but said Melfort recorded the most Tuesday with 30 centimetres. Watrous got 29 centimetres, while a swath of central Saskatchewan had up to 15.
Moodie said the current system will continue to weaken as the day goes on, but that she's tracking another storm system that could hit the province this weekend.
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