Regina declares snow routes as winter storm affects highway travel, flights

Saskatchewan’s latest blast of winter has led the City of Regina to declare its snow routes, while travel on both highways and in the air remain heavily affected by the wintery conditions.

The city announced snow routes were in effect just after 12 p.m. on Sunday. When the measures are in place, no on-street parking is allowed for 24 hours on the identified routes.

Snow routes are marked with blue signs featuring a white snowflake. A complete map of the affected streets are found here.

The 24-hour snow route period is set to begin at 6 a.m. on Monday.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has said the storm is the result of a low-pressure system approaching the Dakotas in the Midwestern U.S.

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The federal weather service issued a winter storm warning for a large swath of the province early Sunday morning.

The affected area includes the vast majority of southern and central Saskatchewan — excluding regions in the far west like Maple Creek, Swift Current and Kerrobert.

In Regina, the forecast called for between 25 to 40 centimetres of snow over the duration of the storm.

While winter conditions existed for all routes immediately surrounding Regina, travel was not recommended for Highway 39 to the west, Highway 10 to the east and Highway 1 in both directions due to poor visibility, slippery sections, as well as swirling and drifting snow.

Regina’s International Airport reported that as of 12:50 p.m., 10 departures had been cancelled due to poor weather.

“As you would expect there has been significant flight delays and cancellations today. Passengers should ensure they check with their airlines if their flight has been cancelled so they can be rescheduled as soon as possible,” explained James Bogusz, president and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority.

“We are still dealing with challenging weather conditions ahead today, so we can expect additional weather disruptions until the storm lets up.”

The ECCC forecast storm conditions to continue through Monday morning.