Communities around Saskatchewan brace for ‘historic’ spring blizzard

Communities in southeast Saskatchewan are bracing for whatever conditions might be coming their way as a storm barrels down on the province.

Areas near Moosomin, Estevan, Carlyle and Weyburn are expected to bear the brunt of the storm, with forecasters predicting between 30 and 50 centimetres of snow by Friday, along with fierce winds gusting up to 90 kilometres per hour.

Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig says city crews are using an “all-hands-on-deck” approach.

“We have a very experienced and trained staff. When the chips are down, they do a fantastic job,” Ludwig said Tuesday. “We hope that just the edge of it catches us, but if it does hit us full blast, we’re ready.”

Aside from city crews being ready to get to work, Ludwig says the city is in contact with contractors to help in storm response depending on the severity of the blizzard.

Saskatchewan is expecting a major blizzard starting Tuesday night. The public is requested to stay off the streets and highways to ensure your safety during these blizzards conditions. It is imperative to allow Emergency Services and Public Works to do their jobs safely. pic.twitter.com/4Uhf9jWeY7

— Estevan Police (@Estevan_Police) April 12, 2022

Weyburn Mayor Marcel Roy is hopeful everyone will heed the warnings issued by Environment Canada and stay home, not putting themselves or others in danger as a result of going out.

“Earlier this year when we had another significant storm, people were still going out and our police force had about 15 calls of people stuck on the road being stranded,” Roy said. “Just stay at home. There’s nothing that important that you need to go out.”

Roy said he can’t recall a time when he heard so much caution regarding a storm, as Environment Canada has said there is a chance for it to be the worst blizzard seen on the prairies in decades.

“If I am hearing it could be the storm of the century, I would think it would be best to just stay at home and ride it out,” he said. “Hopefully people are taking their advice and stocking up a bit and being ready for it.”

Many businesses in the region are listening to the warnings and are expected to be closed for a few days, according to Roy.

“In the oilfields, some of our service rigs are shutting down and pulling into the yards,” he said. “They don’t want to be out in the storm, so even the oil companies are calling (Tuesday) the last day and they’re just going to sit (Wednesday) and see how things develop.

“It’s great to see people look at it from the cautious side.”

In Moosomin, close to the Manitoba border, people are preparing for a few days of impassable roads.

“It’s insane; it’s been crazy. We’ve been hit hard. We’ve gone through three days of milk in half a day,” said Chris Campbell, the manager of the Borderland Co-op Moosomin Food Store. “They are loading up on pretty much everything. We have lineups of people loading up with water.

“Then there’s the holiday stuff. The hams — we thought we would have tons of that and we are almost out of that already. Then the normal stuff — canned mushrooms and foods — those are going fast.”

Campbell said people are definitely buying more than normal and coming in earlier to get their Easter meals ready.

“On average, we would do $50,000 a day and (Monday) we did $90,000,” Campbell said.

Kevin Weedmark of the Moosomin World Spectator says businesses have been very busy as people get whatever supplies they might need.

“I think most people will be well-prepared if the highway has to be closed for a couple of days,” Weedmark said.

“I think what people are worried about is how long the highways might be closed, just because we’ve had so many times in the winter that the highways have been closed. Now, with Easter weekend coming up, I know there has been a few events that have been cancelled because of the anticipation that travel is going to be difficult.”

The weather service is suggesting people stock up on items they may need — including prescription medications — and to be ready for possibly long periods of power outages.

School will be out for many children in the region for a few days as a result of the conditions.

4/12/22 – Important Communication pic.twitter.com/YppsXeVo7k

— South East Cornerstone School Division (@SECPSD) April 12, 2022

The South East Cornerstone School Division issued a release on Tuesday afternoon saying classes would be cancelled for Wednesday and Thursday because of the potential risks of the storm.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Britton Gray