Winter storm creates treacherous driving conditions in Regina and around southern Sask.

Note: Updates are being added throughout this article. 

Many commuters in and outside of Regina are facing tough driving conditions Wednesday morning following a significant snowfall on Tuesday that has closed highways and snarled traffic on many of the city’s main throughfares.

"I was heading south there. I was in the bypass, and I got hung up on the snow. my tires were just spinning. We tried to push it out,” said Mike Antonini, a driver who got stuck on Courtney Street North.

The high snowdrifts even made it nearly impossible to come in and out of some Regina neighbourhoods.

"I started shovelling yesterday because I knew the snow buildup was coming, so I was trying to get ahead of it. But at some point, you had to go to sleep at night and woke up and have three feet of concrete in my driveway," said Julian Branch, a resident in the city. 

In Regina, there have been reports of large traffic back ups on Ring Road, Dewdney Avenue and Victoria Avenue Wednesday morning.

Plainsview School is the city's northwest is also closed on Wednesday due to poor road conditions and impassable roads, Regina Public Schools said in an email, adding classes will resume on Thursday. 

Regina Public also said in the email that it was cancelling all student transportation for Wednesday. 

"It is very rare for Regina public to close a school for any reason. What normally happens is if it's very cold, we have certain policies about temperature, we will cancel transportation. Schools typically do not close,” said Terry Lazarou, the supervisor of communications for Regina Public Schools.

The Regina Catholic School Division said on its website that it too was cancelling all student transportation for Wednesday due to unsafe road conditions.  

On Tuesday, the city said it was all hands-on deck, with crews deployed since Monday evening doing ice control and working to ensure traffic flowed as effectively as possible with a focus on "high-risk intersections."

"Currently, winter crews are providing a full storm response with graders, sanders and sidewalk machines. Based on the snowfall forecast for the city, a systematic plow of all major roads will commence before Wednesday morning," the city said in a release on Tuesday.

The city’s snow routes were also activated at 6 a.m. Wednesday meaning there is no parking on streets that are marked with the city’s blue and white snow route signs until after 6 a.m. Thursday. 

City bus routes were also impacted with many bus drivers getting stuck in the snow.

"What we do when those situations, just allow customers to transfer to the next bus that's coming along the route. Sometimes customers choose to stay on the bus, and we alert winter road maintenance just to help us clear out there,” explained Nathan Luhning, manager of transit administration for the City of Regina. 

Highways

Outside of Regina highways are also treacherous, according to the Highway Hotline on Wednesday morning.

• Saskatchewan's Highway Hotline has new road condition terminology

Highway 1 was closed from Balgonie to the Manitoba border and all other roads around the Queen City including the Regina Bypass had a “travel not recommended” status on them, at 7:30 a.m.

An image of the Highway Hotline's map around Regina Wednesday morning showing blue travel not recommended status' and a bright red road closure status on Highway 1.

RCMP said on Wednesday morning that it was aware of 120 weather related incidents or collisions between 8:30 Tuesday morning and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. 

In an earlier news release sent out late Tuesday night, RCMP reminded motorists to not exit their vehicles if they get stranded on a highway.

“Always stay with your vehicle, stay warm, periodically turn your vehicle on but be mindful to conserve your fuel and battery, make sure your tailpipe remains clear of ice and snow or carbon monoxide could seep into your vehicle and periodically lower your window slightly on the side of your vehicle that is downwind allowing fresh air to enter the vehicle,” RCMP said in the release.

RCMP also want motorists to remember that if they have to stop along a highway for any reason to pull over to the right shoulder if its possible and safe and to never block intersections.

All winter storm warnings have ended in Saskatchewan on Wednesday with northern portions of the province still under a snowfall warning. Warnings remanined in place for much of Manitoba as well on Wednesday morning. 

Current highway conditions can be read here.

Updates to watches and warnings are available here.

More snow is expected in southern Saskatchewan this week with some current forecasts on Wednesday calling for an additional 15 to 20 centimetres in Regina on Saturday.