Smoke, snow, rain expected in bizarre Saskatchewan weather

Smoke, rain and snow make for a weird day of weather on the prairies.

The winter-like weather began Wednesday evening for parts of Saskatchewan, with around 15 to 20 centimetres of snow expected for parts of the southwest Thursday and Friday.

Mike Russo with Environment Canada described Thursday’s conditions as “strange.”

“The fact that we’ve got dry conditions out there, at least you’ve got a precursor now to having fires by having rain and snow,” Russo said. “On the one hand, the rain may subside some of the existing fires, but on the other hand, lightning could maybe reignite some fires.”

The Cloverdale wildfire northeast of Prince Albert is not solely to blame for the air quality advisory in much of southern Saskatchewan.

Smoke originating from wildfires in Manitoba is expected to drift into the southeastern portion of the province Thursday. People are being asked to be aware of potential health concerns associated with the air quality as well as reduced visibility in some areas in the province.

“We are looking at maybe one or two days of dealing with this, tops, as the wind does start to move from the northeast,” Russo said. “After those one to two days, things should improve.”

Hazardous road conditions are a possibility in the Saskatoon and Regina regions as rain and snow mixing with potentially freezing temperatures in the evening could make for icy road conditions.

“Tonight with the cooler temperatures moving in, that rain could actually change over to freezing rain,” Russo said. “That will be the main issue.”

A complete list of conditions in the province can be found by clicking here.