Regina expecting up to 10 cm of snow as winter storm pushes into Sask.

REGINA -

If you are planning to travel across Saskatchewan in the coming days, just don’t. Across the province, an intensifying low is going to make conditions hazardous with heavy snowfall accumulation, gusting winds, the potential for freezing rain and possible whiteout blizzard conditions.

The week started with foggy conditions and some precipitation starting to build into the province. Throughout Monday evening, snow will build into central and northern Saskatchewan, while rain and freezing rain are on tap through the south. This is ahead of the low moving in from Alberta, which is set to bring wintery conditions, including the potential for blizzard warnings.

Ahead of the system, on Monday Environment Canada issued wind warnings through southern Saskatchewan for gusts to 100 km/h between Kindersley and Regina, as well as 90 km/h through the rest of the region. Meanwhile, in northern Saskatchewan, winter storm warnings are in effect.

However, these warnings may change. Environment Canada said that through southern Saskatchewan the wind warnings might be upgraded to blizzard warnings because the winds are likely to combine with snow leading to blowing snow. In the majority of Canada, blizzard warnings are issued when winds of over 40 km/h are paired with snowfall leading to visibility of less than 400 metres for at least 4 hours.

The expected rain looks to continue moving through the southeast into Monday night, clearing before Tuesday morning with cloudy conditions continuing through to the early afternoon. Meanwhile, snow will continue to fall through northern and central parts of the province Monday night.

Into Tuesday morning the low will really push into the province, and by 8 a.m. it is centered over Saskatoon with snow wrapping around through the north and into the southwest on the province.

As the low continues to move into Manitoba by Tuesday evening, snowfall will blanket almost the entirety of the province with the majority of total accumulations happening in a 24 hour period between Tuesday and Wednesday. Regina currently looks to get around 10 centimeters of snow, but the highest accumulations look to fall in the areas around Meadow Lake and La Ronge with up to 30 centimetres possible.

However, again, winds are the biggest concern through southern Saskatchewan. Through the early hours of Tuesday morning, wind gusts up to 90 or 100 km/h will start in south western Saskatchewan, and the rest of southern Saskatchewan will see those winds start to peak in the early afternoon on Tuesday.

When you combine gusting winds and moderate to heavy snowfall accumulation, it is very likely we will have blowing snow and reduced visibility. This is why I started this by saying if you don’t need to travel – then stay home. The highways are likely to be very messy until the storm clears on Wednesday evening and conditions look to be hazardous. Stay safe everyone!