While many people in southeastern Saskatchewan woke up on a relatively mild Wednesday morning, those conditions did not last long.
Snowstorms are expected to continue until Thursday.
Much of the area, including Estevan, Weyburn, Moosomin, Grenfell, Carlyle and Beinfait, has remained under warning of a snowstorm since Wednesday night.
These areas are expected to receive 20 to 50 centimeters of snow over the next few days, along with wind gusts of up to 70 km / h, according to Environment Canada.
As of 6 p.m., several highways in southeastern Saskatchewan were closed. This includes the Trans-Canadian Highway, which was closed from the Manitoba border to Whitewood.
“This is a complete blizzard in the southeast corner of the province and it will continue for at least the next 18 to 24 hours,” said Brad Wroleyke, Canada’s leading weather forecaster for the environment and climate change, on Wednesday night.
“By Thursday night, the system will be moving east,” he said, but the southeast corner of the province will wake up to snowstorms on Thursday morning.
“The worst conditions will definitely be tomorrow night, but it will still continue to snow lightly until Friday morning.
Estevan saw strong gusts of 83 kilometers per hour with very low visibility until Wednesday. (RCMP)
Estevan and the regions east of the Manitoba border have been hit hardest since Wednesday night, with blizzards of less than 40 meters, which “did not weaken all day,” Wroleyk said.
A powerful low-pressure system in North Dakota is spreading snow and strong winds in the affected regions, he said, but the system will gradually stop as it spreads more snow in the southeast corner.
“Conditions will get worse as you approach the Manitoba border with the system,” Wroleyk said.
Although it was difficult to get exact amounts of snow, it is likely that the Estevan area was between 20 and 35 centimeters by Wednesday night, he said.
Estevan saw strong gusts of 83 kilometers per hour, he said.
The storm is still blowing hard in
So far, no one has entered the city’s emergency shelter pic.twitter.com/jmqtEOjezz
– @dponticelliTV
The corridor from Regina to Yorkton is expected to be more than 10 centimeters in the next 24 hours, but snowfall will fall west and northwest, Vroljik said. Saskatoon can expect two to five inches.
The heaviest snowfall will continue overnight on Wednesday and Thursday in the Estevan, Carlisle and Musomin areas, Wroleyk said.
The southeast corner is expected to gain another 10 to 20 centimeters in the next 24 hours, he said.
“If you’re heading to southeastern Saskatchewan, especially if you’re planning to travel to Manitoba, please check the highway conditions and wear a winter survival kit.”
The journey stops
Tony Lepa, a truck driver with Paul’s Hauling, headed east for Brandon before the storm hit.
He was stopped on Wednesday in Musomin, 20 kilometers west of the province’s border between Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and plans to continue after the storm clears.
“I will be parked here for a good day. Since all the highways are closed, you cannot continue,” he said.
Tony Lepa headed east for Brandon in his truck before the storm hit Moosomin. (Daniela Ponticelli / CBC)
Lepa said he encountered “melting snow and reduced visibility” on highways.
Many other truck drivers were also spotted stopping at Moosomin’s Co-Op gas bar on Wednesday morning.
A couple stuck in Moosomin is trying to find their way to Winnipeg. Mike Spier and his partner attended a concert in Regina.
“We were hoping to go home. We’ll just go as far as we can,” Speer said. “We hope to get to Brandon.”
Spear said their plan is to move on until they find barricaded roads they “can’t cross.”
“If we can’t get to Virden, we’ll just turn around and go back and stay at a Moosomin hotel. That’s the plan,” he said.
Many trucks were spotted stopping at Moosomin’s Co-Op gas bar on Wednesday morning after the highway closed. (Daniela Ponticelli)
Senior who
Meanwhile, in the town of Musomin, Sask, just a few miles west of the Manitoba border, residents were doing their best to prepare for the storm.
Bernadette Nosterwood, property manager of Pipestone Villas, an independent seniors’ complex, said he advised residents to stay close to home.
“We try to keep the trails as clean here as we can, but downtown is sometimes a little harder,” she said.
– They are well taken care of.
WATCH Nicole Karkic of The Weather Network on what to expect in severe storms:
What to expect as a big storm hits Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario
Nicole Karkic of The Weather Network on what to expect as a storm hits three provinces this week. 1:11
Nosterwood said she was grateful that this storm was happening in warmer weather than at -40 C. She said the complex had access to a generator delivered from the city in the event of a major power outage.
“We hope it won’t get there,” she said.
“So I told everyone to take off their blankets, wool socks and sweaters just in case.
Nosterwood has lived in the Muzomin area for more than 40 years, and said it is common in the region to experience a severe storm at least once a winter.
This week’s winter storm brought white conditions to Musomin, Sask. (Daniela Ponticelli / CBC)
Calving problems
The breeders in the area pay special attention to the meteorological conditions.
Many breeders have either undergone calving for the year or are currently undergoing calving.
“A lot of them won’t sleep much during this storm,” Chad Ross, a cattle rancher around Estevan, told CBC Radio’s The Morning Edition.
“They will check their animals, probably every hour. And all the calves that are born in this storm will be received, dried, and then given something to eat.”
Ross said his calving did not begin until May this year, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t spent the last few days preparing for the storm.
He said all his cattle were fed and had enough shelter to protect them from the wind.
“The wind is what is really dangerous for them, even more than the snow,” Ross said.
“Yesterday we gathered many of our feeding cattle in storage and took them to pens where they could be behind shelter.”
The storm is expected to begin to subside tonight, but snow and winds are still expected on Thursday.
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