Drifting, swirling snow on Sask. highways

Strong winds combined with blowing snow created some unpleasant driving conditions across Saskatchewan Friday morning.

As of 6 a.m., the Highway Hotline reported drifting and swirling snow causing poor visibility on most highways across the province stretching from Swift Current to Moose Jaw, Regina, Saskatoon and east to Yorkton.

The swirling snow also covered icy and slippery sections in some areas.

Saskatoon had about three centimetres – or one inch – of snow overnight, which was just enough to create poor driving conditions on city streets.

650 CKOM traffic guy Jay Thomas warned drivers to use extreme caution due to slippery conditions.

“It’s a slick morning with the snow-covered roads. You can’t see road markings. If you get to a place where it’s out in the open, and you think it’s pavement, it’s probably black ice,” he said, adding the blowing and swirling snow has really polishing the road surface.

3 CAR CRASH: Attridge EB at Central Ave. EB lanes blocked, NB curb lane blocked. Snow covered roads are slippery. Use extreme caution and slow down #yxe pic.twitter.com/wl2DfgZR3g

— CKOM Traffic (@ckomtraffic) November 10, 2017

People on the 306306 text line also reported snow drifts and reduced visibility along Highway 16 between Borden and Saskatoon.

In Regina, wind was gusting up to 60 km/h at times, leading to drifting and blowing snow on city streets and highways.

There is more light snow in the forecast for Saskatoon and Regina.

On the plus side, temperatures are expected to be much warmer Friday after the deep freeze 24 hours earlier.

In Regina, the temperature fell below -28 C degrees early Thursday morning, breaking a 98-year-old record for cold.

Moose Jaw, Weyburn, Watrous, Collins Bay, and La Ronge all also broke overnight low records.

It was a huge contrast to last year, when many communities across southern Saskatchewan broke records for heat dating back to the 1800s.