Saskatchewan’s highways ministry pulled its snow plows off several roads and closed a large section of Highway 11 Saturday as heavy, blowing snow swept east across the province.
A Highway Hotline update sent just after 5 p.m. stated a winter storm was causing zero visibility in several parts of the province and that the ministry was suspending snow-plowing operations in some areas. A portion of Highway 11 — between Regina and Davidson — was closed for about two hours because of the poor conditions.
“We strongly urge motorists to postpone travel in these areas until visibility improves,” the update read.
RCMP blamed the weather for several crashes across the province, including a three-vehicle crash north of Regina and a nine-vehicle pileup on Highway 16 near North Battleford.
The three-vehicle collision saw a semi-trailer enter the ditch off Highway 11 before two other vehicles were forced into the ditch to avoid the semi. The nine-vehicle crash, which began with just three vehicles, involved a semi-trailer and saw a police cruiser damaged.
“There was extremely poor visibility due to blowing and drifting snow,” Battlefords RCMP said. “The diminished visibility even hampered motorists’ ability to see the fully marked police vehicles with emergency lights activated.”
No one was seriously injured in either crash, but RCMP still recommended drivers avoid travelling.
"RCMP wish to remind people to stay home if at all possible, as travel in many parts of the province is very dangerous," read a media release from RCMP Saskatchewan.
Environment Canada’s early Saturday forecast stated much of Saskatchewan would be hit with 10 to 15 centimetres of snow. An intense low pressure system was moving east across the province, the agency stated in several snowfall warnings.
The warnings were lifted by Saturday evening with Environment Canada calling for the heavy snowfall to slow Saturday night.
