SASKATCHEWAN — Saskatchewan residents are not only digging out from a powerful winter storm that blasted the province Feb. 17 and 18, they’re contending with frigid temperatures.
Danielle Desjardins, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, described the storm as a “very impactful” system.
“We had lots of travel not recommended on the highways, and pretty significant snowfall amounts,” she said.
As for accumulations, Desjardins noted a volunteer weather reporter in the north-central community of Prud’Homme recorded 50 centimetres. Prince Albert had 35 centimetres, while Saskatoon and Regina each received 19.
“Those numbers may vary because of the winds in front of this system, and so there have been drifts, so … take those with a grain of salt. There might be more or less [snow] in some regions,” said Desjardins.
Environment Canada expects to release an event total recap later on Feb. 19, she said.
A chart blends model data with some of the observations and radar information to estimate snowfall totals, she said, and it appears the heaviest-hit areas were north of Meadow Lake, south of Cold Lake, east of North Battleford, east of Saskatoon and east of Regina.
“Those areas could have seen upwards of 35-40 centimetres according to this, but that’s just a model estimate,” said Desjardins.
The storm largely met Environment Canada’s expectations. The only surprise, she said, was that the freezing rain projected for the southeast extended further north than anticipated, reaching as far north as Regina.
“We were aware of the risk, but we thought it was [going to be] more confined to the southeast,” she said.
Frigid temperatures have descended on the province. For the next four days, Desjardins said temperatures would be at least 10 C lower the normal. Extreme cold warnings have been issued for Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, North Battleford, Outlook, Wilkie, Unity and other areas.
Overnight lows are expected to be in the -30s C, she said, and daytime highs are to be in the -20 C range. Winds are not expected to be strong, but Desjardins said even a little gust will push the wind chill to the -30 to -40 C range.
