Saskatoon braces for more winter weather

After a big dump of snow yesterday, and overnight, Saskatoon was in clean-up mode today and while there has already been a lot of winter this November, Saskatoon is bracing for more in the coming weeks.

Dakota Kiss could do without the hassle of shovelling snow.

“It’s extremely gross. I hate winter,” Kiss told CTV News.

She estimates clearing her sidewalks and driveway to take about 20 minutes. She admits, she’s trying to find the silver lining saying, today’s dumping isn’t really heavy to shovel.

“It is very light and it’s a form of physical activity, get outside, get some fresh air,” she says.

The bulk of the storm started Monday, rolling into the evening.

Environment and Climate Change Canada said that between seven and 20 centimetres of snow fell across southern and central Saskatchewan.

“It wasn’t the biggest snow accumulation for parts of Saskatchewan yesterday but depending on where you are in the province it’s a pretty significant amount that’s likely fallen,” Natalie Hasell, with Environment and Climate Change Canada told CTV News.

While Hasell says, they don’t have a reading for the exact amount of snow that fell in Saskatoon, volunteer online sites are saying it is between five and seven centimetres.

However, Hasell admits, it may seem like a lot more for some who are out there shovelling.

“You could get snow drifts in some places that are significant where other places where the snow was taken from to create those drifts, those areas may not have as great of snow depth,” she says.

City crews were out overnight tackling main routes, enlisting extra help from private contractors to get the job done, and the work will continue.

“We’ll be grading all priority streets in Saskatoon within 72 hours as well as clearing snow from city-maintained sidewalks, bridge walkways and pathways within 48 hours,” Roadways Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Tracy Danielson, told CTV News.

The fact that we’ve had three major snowfalls in November has been significant according to Danielson.

“In a typical winter will have five to six snow events, so to have three already is a bit of a quick start to this winter,” she said.

The Saskatoon Police Service told CTV News they had five collisions reported as a result of the wintery driving conditions. Most of those happened during rush hour on Monday.

We’re not finished with this blast from mother nature either, according to Hasell.

“Winds are out of the north in the wake of the system, so that will bring down cold air from the arctic and with that we will see well below normal temperatures."

For Saskatoon, it means temperatures will dip to -30 C on Friday, and the warmest day will be Thursday, which is forecast to be -17 C.