'You've got to be kidding': Southeast Sask. communities bracing for another spring storm

Communities in southeast Saskatchewan, including Estevan and Weyburn, are preparing for another significant weather system to move through just one week after the last snow fall pummeled the area.

Roy Ludwig, the mayor of Estevan, said the news of another storm caught him by surprise.

“My first thoughts were 'really? Again? Like you’ve got to be kidding,'” he said. “We’re cautiously optimistic it’ll miss but I thought the same way last week.”

Crews in Estevan spent about a week cleaning up from the last Colorado Low.

“Last weekend, they gave up their Easter. They worked all weekend to dig us out from under the storm. When they got the worst of that taken care of, they’ve been working all week to get ready now if it does come this weekend,” Ludwig said.

It’s a similar situation in Weyburn.

“A lot of it was just getting passable lanes through the city so we wind rowed a lot of the snow into the middle of the street,” Jennifer Wilkinson, the director of engineering with the City of Weyburn, said. “We’ve actually been taking down those windrows, trucking them away and getting the snows off the streets in preparation for more snow coming.

CTV News Regina meteorologist Bradlyn Oakes said this weekend’s system, expected to begin on Friday night, will likely be messier than last week’s.

“This one does look to play out a little bit differently because there’s a little bit more moisture and variation in the precipitation type,” Oakes said. “Areas could see 30 to 50 centimetres of snow, along with about 10 to 15 millimetres of rain so it’s going to be that messy mixture. Lots of wet, heavy snow and then freezing as well.”

Oakes said the heavy snow leads to a higher possibility of power outages.

In Weyburn, crews are preparing slightly differently because of the ice expected to come with this system.

“As the snow falls, we’re not going to send a snow plow out immediately, but we might have our salt and sand trucks out a little earlier just to make sure our intersections are free,” Wilkinson said.

Weyburn and Estevan have crews on standby.

“We’ve got all hands on deck, all the equipment is ready, so hopefully we’re ready to go if it does hit,” Ludwig said.

RCMP Saskatchewan said many areas could see poor road conditions and encourage drivers to check Highway Hotline before travelling.