Weekend weather across the Prairies forced highways to close, disrupted flights and prompted the mayor of one city to ask anyone without a vehicle equipped with four-wheel drive to stay home.
Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark, whose city had received close to 30 centimetres of snow by Sunday afternoon, told an online news conference that anyone with a light vehicle was more likely to get stuck, putting strain on already busy emergency crews.
The city’s airport said poor visibility and wind resulted in the cancellation of approximately 30 flights as of Sunday morning, noting WestJet flights have been cancelled until at least 6:20 p.m. Sunday evening, and Rise Air has also cancelled all flights from the facility.
Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang says the hardest hit areas of the province were in the west central region, including Saskatoon and through to North Battleford. And even though snowfall appears to be tapering off, she says winds are expected to pick up overnight and blow the snow into drifts.
Lang says less snow was reported in Regina, but the province’s online highways map reported that sections of the Trans-Canada Highway east of the capital were closed due to poor driving conditions.
Calgary and Edmonton also saw significant snow on Saturday, while a freezing rain warning was in effect on Sunday afternoon in Winnipeg.