Winter weather swept across Saskatchewan’s southern half, creating slick roads and poor driving conditions throughout the region Friday.
The province’s Highway Hotline did not recommend travel on numerous roads—including Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Regina and highways in the North Battleford, Humboldt, Moose Jaw and Estevan areas—for several hours during the day, and Environment Canada stated travel may be “hazardous” in some parts of the province.
The weather agency issued winter storm and snowfall warnings, as well as blowing snow advisories, for several areas.
“Strong gusty winds combined with heavy snow this morning is reducing visibility to less than 800 metres,” an advisory for the Saskatoon region read.
RCMP issued a news release advising of poor road conditions and reduced visibility in numerous parts of the province, and police in Saskatoon sent out several media releases asking motorists to reduce speeds.
The police service responded to six collisions between 11:30 a.m. and when the snow began falling in the city, and officers also responded to an incident in which a semi jackknifed on Circle Drive, near 22nd Street.
The incident was at least the second across the province Friday involving a jackknifed semi. Another truck jackknifed on Highway 14 near Macklin, Sask.
Neither Saskatoon police nor the RCMP directly confirmed winter weather as the causes of the semi incidents, but media releases from both police agencies about the reports advised of the winter driving conditions.
Snowfall totals in some regions — specifically in the Regina area and the southernmost parts of the province — were expected to reach up to 10 centimetres by the time the storm was forecast to taper off Friday evening, according to Environment Canada. Saskatoon was expected to see five centimetres.
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