‘False Spring’ comes to end with arrival of widespread snowstorm in Saskatoon

As Keenan Sorokan explains, the City of Saskatoon and the province is preparing for a serious winter storm.

Winter wasn’t quite done with Saskatchewan after multiple weeks of warmer temperatures settled in across the province.

“It was a false spring I guess over the last several weeks,” meteorologist Danielle Desjardins said Tuesday.

Snowfall and blowing snow advisories from Environment Canada blanketed much of the province covering areas from Meadow Lake all the way to Estevan.

Some areas further south were forecast to receive up to 35 — or roughly 14 inches — of snow by the time the storm finishes passing over sometime Wednesday afternoon.

Then the cold arrives.

“And then behind the system, temperatures are going to be dropping to below normal,” Desjardins said. “So, you know, on the other end of the pendulum here.”

Much of the Tuesday was about preparation as intense wind gusts arrived long before snow began falling mid-afternoon.

Some travelers at the Saskatoon airport were in the Bridge City longer than anticipated as flights going to or through Alberta were cancelled as the storm affected that part of the prairies earlier.

Ground crews were on standby ready to clear whatever snow falls and ensure as little interruptions as possible for passengers.

“It’s really about our teams just being able to keep up with snowfall, making sure there’s no ice buildup on the ground. So, it’s really about manpower at this point,” Saskatoon Airport Authority’s vice president of business development CJ Dushinski said.

With the storm being so widespread, those in charge of safeguarding the more than 26,000 kilometres of highways in Saskatchewan are in for a tall task, but a storm like this is nothing new.

“Winter storms, winter weather, adverse conditions — this is what the Ministry of Highways does,” Dan Palmer with the Ministry said. “This is what we prepare for continually.”

Palmer is urging people to use the Highway Hotline if they plan to travel. With it’s many features from cameras to radar, to following the progress of plows, he says it can be a vital tool to keeping people safe.

It can also be one of the most up to date places for road conditions with crews updating roads as they’re worked on.

“Once you reach your destination, check (highway hotline) again. I mean, this very system that we’re talking about right now, the weather can change on a dime. So, check the highway hotline before you return from your destination,” Palmer said. Saskatoon is expected to see less snow than other communities, with Desjardins saying the heaviest snowfall will happen east of the city.

“Saskatoon is already kind of on the border of, of the, the heaviest snowfall. So, escaping the brunt of it. You’re not out of the clear yet,” she said.