Saskatoon, along with much of Saskatchewan, was blanketed Tuesday by the first snowfall of the season — and it was just the beginning of what’s likely to come over the next few days.
According to the City of Saskatoon, residents woke up Tuesday to around three or four inches of snow and then had to deal with another five to seven inches as snow continued to fall through the day.
According to Environment Canada and The Weather Network, snowfall is expected to stop in the city on Wednesday and Thursday before resuming Friday and continuing through the weekend across the province.
A snowfall warning was in place, and high wind gusts were expected for a majority of the province on Tuesday, “as a disturbance lingers over the area,” according to Environment Canada.
The city declared the first snow event of the season, calling in contractors to help city crews with cleanup, sanding and more street care. On Tuesday, 25 graders, 11 sanders, seven plows and five sidewalk plows were tackling the snowfall.
“City snow crews were working through the night and will continue to focus on keeping high speed and high traffic streets, intersections and bridge decks clear while it’s still snowing,” the city said in a statement.
According to the city’s snow event response policy, priority one areas include freeways and major arterials; priority two areas include arterials with double lanes and bus routes; and priority three areas are collector streets, business improvement district streets and school zones.
The Weather Network said it’s tracking “another widespread significant snowfall Friday and Saturday for much of the southern and central Prairies.” The network said it was “too early to have confidence in snow totals and where the heaviest snow will fall,” but that the looming storm “could have a major impact on travel across the Prairies.”
Highways on Tuesday were treacherous in large parts of the province, according to RCMP.
Between midnight and 8 a.m. on Tuesday, RCMP received 14 reports of vehicle collisions, including two involving deer; one involving three vehicles in the Humboldt area west of Guernsey; one of a jackknifed semi in the Moose Jaw area near Belle Plaine; and one about a vehicle in a ditch in the Fort Qu’Appelle area.
Reports of collisions continued once the sun rose, with RCMP responding to jackknifed semis around Pense, Disley, east of Waldeck, east of Dafoe and east of Regina near White City. RCMP also responded to a semi rollover on Highway 1, east of Indian Head.
According to The Weather Network, a “potent Texas low” led to the widespread winter storm and snowfall warnings across Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The Texas low was the first of its kind this season. In addition to the snowfall, rain in some areas along the border was causing issues.
The areas heaviest hit by snow in Saskatchewan were in the east, including Yorkton, Wynyard and Moosomin. As much as 10 or 11 inches of snow were forecast.
The Texas low “is not a common storm track and one that will bring some significant snow and powerful winds, which could result in dangerous blizzard-like conditions,” according to The Weather Network.
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