Wind wallops Saskatchewan as part of major snowstorm

Snow wasn’t the only thing blowing Tuesday as a winter storm battered Saskatchewan.

In a tweet, Swift Current city councillor Ryan Switzer said chunks of the roof of a liquor store in that city were blowing off and landing on the adjacent highway.

It appears as though chunks of roof are flying off the Swift Current liquor store and onto the nearby highway. Be safe out there. pic.twitter.com/IqYfBtscsW

— Ryan Swïtzer (@ryan_switzer) November 16, 2021

Earlier in the day, Switzer saw a tree blow over and land on his neighbour’s truck. Then, after he stopped for groceries, he saw the liquor store’s roof coming apart.

“We just saw debris blowing through the parking lot of the Swift Current Mall,” Switzer said. “Our eyes kind of gravitated toward the source of it and it was just large chunks of roof flying off the local liquor store. It was quite the sight to behold.”

In a statement, David Morris of the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority confirmed the damage.

“Portions of the roof on SLGA’s Swift Current store sustained wind damage earlier this morning,” the statement said. “Out of an abundance of caution, SLGA has closed the store this afternoon to ensure the safety of our customers and staff.

“The damage to the roof will be assessed in the coming days and the store will be reopened as soon as it is deemed safe to do so.”

Wind gusts of upwards of 100 kilometres per hour were registered in Swift Current as the storm hammered the province.

As of 6 p.m., blizzard warnings remained in effect for areas around Regina, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Fort Qu’Appelle, Indian Head, Kindersley, Rosetown, Leader, Gull Lake, Outlook and Watrous.

Winter storm warnings were in place for regions around Saskatoon, Hudson Bay, La Ronge, Warman, Meadow Lake, Melfort, Tisdale, Prince Albert, The Battlefords and Pelican Narrows.

There also were wind warnings in effect in areas in southern Saskatchewan.

“Most people I talked to are just taking it easy today,” Switzer said. “I know a lot of local businesses have shut down because of it.

“This is a snow day where I think a lot of people are going to go out inside and eat some soup today. That’s probably the safest thing to do.”

According to the Highway Hotline, every highway into and out of Regina was closed.

Travel wasn’t recommended on the Trans-Canada Highway from Balgonie to Sintaluta, Highway 11 from Davidson to Saskatoon, Highway 10 from Balgonie to Fort Qu’Appelle, Highway 16 east of Saskatoon, and the Yellowhead Highway from North Battleford to Lloydminster.

As well, Highway 7 from Fiske to Kindersley was closed just before 2 p.m., after a crash about one kilometre east of Netherhill.

The storm also caused issues at the Saskatoon airport.

Flights from Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg were cancelled, while a flight from Vancouver was delayed and one from Toronto was listed on the airport’s website as “aborted.”

Flights to Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Winnipeg were cancelled and one to Vancouver was delayed.