Saskatchewan got hit with its first major snowstorm of the season Monday night, with much of the province remaining under a snowfall and winter storm warning Tuesday.
“Definitely a wintry scene to begin with today,” said Dan Fulton, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
Fulton said areas around Melfort, Humboldt and Nipawin were hit the hardest overnight, receiving about 15 centimetres of snow.
He said those areas can expect to see more snow accumulate throughout the day, with ECCC warning of hazardous conditions for much of the province.
The heavy, wet snow coupled with wind gusts up to 60 kilometres per hour reduced visibility on the roads and made for some treacherous driving conditions.
RCMP reported several accidents related to the storm, including a semi that jacknifed on the highway near Belle Plaine and a vehicle hitting the ditch near Fort Qu’appelle.
RCMP said a semi truck also rolled on Highway 1 about 10 kilometres east of Indian Head, but didn’t have further details on that accident.
The storm cut a wide swath through the centre of the province, from Nipawin down through Saskatoon, Outlook and east to Regina, with many of those areas seeing as much as 10 centimetres of snow overnight, Fulton said.
Snow covers much of central Saskatchewan. The worst hit areas were around Humboldt, Nipawin and Melfort.
ECCC is expecting the storm to continue today as a second, southeasterly system moves into the province bringing heavy, wet snow to the east.
“The further east you go the worse things are going to get,” Fulton said.
ECCC is warning of wind gusts reaching 80 kilometres per hour and an additional 15 centimetres of snow as the second system moves through the province.
Fulton said the storm will taper off on Wednesday, but that ECCC is predicting snowfall will continue for the next couple of days.
