Residents were digging out and moving slowly on the roads after Saskatoon received more than 25 centimetres of snow over the weekend.
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Hot or cold, snowy or dry, wet or wild, Mother Nature always keeps Saskatchewan people on their toes. This past weekend was no exception, with a snowstorm blanketing Saskatoon and much of the province …
* With more than 25 centimetres of snow since Saturday morning, city crews were kept busy through the weekend and into the work week. According to the City of Saskatoon, at various points upwards of 35 graders, 10 high speed plows, 10 sidewalk plows and seven sanders were mobilized.
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* The city prioritized high traffic roads, starting with Circle Drive and freeways. From there, focus shifted to grading snow from Priority 1 streets (including Circle Drive, Idylwyld Drive, 22nd Street, College Drive and Eighth Street) and then onto Priority 2 streets with double lanes (such as Clarence Avenue, McKercher Drive and Millar Avenue, as well as Saskatoon Transit routes). The City of Saskatoon said it expected all Priority 1 streets to be completed before Monday turned to Tuesday, and grading on Priority 2 streets is expected to be done by noon on Tuesday.
Priority 3 streets — including school zones, business improvement districts, collector streets and neighbourhood through streets — are expected to be completed by end of day on Thursday, the City of Saskatoon said. At that point, according to the city, the “plan is to move into residential areas and start clearing local streets during the night shift” on Thursday.
* According to Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang, the hardest hit areas of Saskatchewan were in the west central region, including Saskatoon and through to North Battleford. For large portions of the weekend, travel in the area was either not recommended or roads were closed. Highway 1 from Regina to the Manitoba border was closed on Sunday afternoon.
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Although Saskatoon no longer officially measures snowfall at the airport, Lang said unofficial measurements put the storm’s total at 29 to 37 centimetres, with “more in the cities.”
* Many of those trying to fly back home on the weekend experienced delays. The city’s airport said poor visibility and wind resulted in the cancellation of upwards of three dozen flights as of Sunday morning. WestJet flights were cancelled until around 6:20 p.m. on Sunday, and Rise Air also cancelled all Sunday flights from the facility. By Sunday night and Monday morning, while there were still some flights affected, operations were largely back up and running.
* The City of Saskatoon closed its leisure centres — Cosmo, Lakewood and Lawson Civic Centres, Saskatoon Field House and Shaw Centre — on Monday, as well as the Saskatoon Forestry Farm and Zoo.
Curbside cart collections were suspended and are being rescheduled.
As well, elementary schools in Saskatoon were scheduled to be closed Monday for a professional development day. Because of the snow, the city’s public and Catholic high schools were also cancelled.
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