Alberta Clipper wreaks havoc as central, northern Sask. digs out after heavy snowfall

“All in all, it’s looking like the further north you head, it’s 20 centimetres plus, with Meadow Lake being the biggest accumulation we’ve seen so far,” Desjardins said.

Several businesses in Melfort announced they would stay closed on Wednesday, including Gateway Veterinary Services, the North East SPCA, RJ’s Urban Garden Cafe, TJ’s Pizza, Dress Well with Gisele, Koffee Grounds, Melfort Auto Body, and Penny’s Soup and Sandwich.

Highways in the areas affected were significantly impacted, with the Highway Hotline recommending against travel on many of them. The Melfort area saw highway closures last night as the worst of the storm made its way through. Desjardins said the snow and wind produced extremely poor visibility in many areas, along with snow accumulation and ice buildup.

There is some good news; Desjardins said the province is due for some warmer weather, more typical for this time of year. The average daytime high for this time of year is around 7 C.

“We’re going to see daytime highs above zero, a little bit more towards normal spring-like temperatures,” Desjardins said. “So some of that snow is going to melt over the next several days, and some pretty nice weather heading into the weekend.”

Desjardins added that it’s a stark contrast between southern Saskatchewan and central and northern areas. Many areas of the south, especially near the U.S. border, have no snow and have been quite dry, while significant snowpack remains in other areas like north-central Saskatchewan. The areas with snowpack had some melting prior to this snow, so Desjardins said it can be quite icy underneath the newly fallen snow.

It remains to be seen how quickly the melt will happen, especially with some ground still being frozen prior to the snowfall.

Desjardins continued the last grips of winter aren’t quite through with us yet. Temperatures will drop early next week back below zero, and another system could impact a large portion of the province. Southern areas will see rain with that system, but it could fall in the form of snow in central and northern areas. While there’s no prediction of how much we could see, Desjardins said they aren’t expecting as much as what we saw with this system.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting a slow start to spring, with warm weather not expected until toward the end of the month. That could lead to a slower melt, and Desjardins said that would be ideal for the soil’s ability to absorb the moisture that’s in the current snowpack.

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

by Cam Lee

Alberta Clipper wreaks havoc as central, northern Sask. digs out after heavy snowfall

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