Travel warnings remain in effect as Sask. snowstorm tapers off
CBC
A powerful spring snowstorm led to several crashes, closed highways and travel warnings throughout Saskatchewan's south-central and southeastern regions on Thursday.
As of 4:00 p.m. CST, Environment Canada warnings had ended in Saskatchewan, with significant snowfall no longer expected. However, roads in affected areas remained dangerous.
Several warnings, closures and incidents were still marked on the highway hotline map as of late Thursday afternoon.
Clean-up was also underway in communities hit hard, like Weyburn, Sask. Some parts of the city saw 50 centimetres of snow, according to storm chaser Jenny Hagan.
Crews had been focusing on primary and emergency routes, said Olivia MacKinnon, who lives in Weyburn and works with the city. She encouraged patience.
"We're all humans, all trying to do our job and we're doing the best we can. The guys are out there working hard trying to clear the snow, so if everybody could just be patient and try and stay off the roads, that would be great," she said.
MacKinnon said she is embracing the spring storm with a positive attitude.
"Winter in Canada is always gonna be crazy. We always hope it'll end sooner than it does. But it — it's just where we live," said MacKinnon, who moved to Weyburn about 10 months ago from Halifax, N.S.
Although springtime snowstorms aren't out of the ordinary, she did notice something seemed strange with this particular storm.
"It reminds me of a nor'easter, of a really strong, wet nor'easter coming off the ocean with a large dump of snow. That wasn't something that I expected in this climate in the Prairies," she said.
Nichole Zahorodin, who also lives in Weyburn, also noted the snowfall was thick, heavy and wet.
"It didn't even look like snowflakes. It looked like people were dropping cotton balls from the sky."
Zahorodin said it was hard to believe that just a few days ago she was enjoying a coffee on her deck in the sunshine, wearing flip flops and capri pants.
"There was little to no snow left in the yard. The grass was actually starting to turn, and now it's awful. I probably have two-and-a-half, about three feet of snow in some places on my deck," she said Thursday afternoon.
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