Roads and highways in rough shape as spring snowstorm hits Saskatchewan

You might want to reconsider any road trips you had planned for Wednesday.

An Alberta clipper swept into Saskatchewan on Tuesday, bringing plenty of snow along with it. According to Dan Fulton, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, the storm dropped 15-35 centimetres of snow across areas including Saskatoon, Meadow Lake, the Battlefords and Prince Albert, with even more snow expected on Wednesday in east-central parts of the province.

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A snowfall warning from Environment Canada remained in effect on Wednesday morning for an area including Melfort, Tisdale, Yorkton, Melville and Humboldt.

“It has tapered off in the west, but it’s still continuing in the eastern part of the province,” Fulton said.

“It should taper off there later today, but places close to the Manitoba border could see as much as another 10 centimetres before it ends.”

Travel was not recommended on many highways across the province on Wednesday morning (indicated in blue). (Saskatchewan Highway Hotline)

Saskatoon got about 16 cm of snow during the storm, Fulton said, but Meadow Lake appeared to be hit the hardest, with around 37 cm of snow falling.

“You can get pretty heavy snow in spring because you’re kind of tapping the more moisture-rich air masses to the south,” the meteorologist explained.

The Saskatchewan Highway Hotline was recommending against travel on many highways north of Saskatoon on Wednesday morning. Fulton said blowing snow could also make driving tricky in the Regina area on Wednesday before the snow tapers off in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Fulton said, a thunderstorm also moved through the province on Tuesday evening.

“It wasn’t snowing, but there was some lightning reported,” he said. “It kind of skirted the international border south of Regina.”

While it might seem like Saskatchewan is back in the depths of winter after the storm, Fulton said the snow probably won’t stick around for too long.

“Temperatures rebound towards the end of the week into the weekend into the double digits, so there should be a lot of melting going on,” he said.

The latest updates on the weather alerts can be found on Environment Canada’s website, and current road conditions can be accessed through the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Abby Zieverink