March will be coming in like a lion for the city of Moose Jaw and southwest Saskatchewan.
Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for the area, with up to 40 cm of snow expected in some areas, including Moose Jaw.
Heavy snow and blowing snow with low visibility is expected to begin Saturday morning near the Alberta border and move east throughout the weekend, with the worst of conditions expected to hit the city Saturday evening and throughout the day Sunday.
The storm will also bring wind gusts of 60 to 70 km/h, creating blowing snow that could develop into blizzard conditions -- winds of 40 km/h or greater, visibility of less than one km, and conditions lasting longer than four hours.
The storm is the product of a low-pressure system in Montana that will move into the southwest section of Saskatchewan on Saturday morning. This area of snow and blowing snow will move northeast and cover the remainder of the southern half of the province by Sunday morning. Snow and blowing snow will continue through Monday.
Environment Canada warns that surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow and visibility could be suddenly reduced to zero at any time.
Should the storm reach expected snowfall levels, it would easily set new records for this time of year.
The most precipitation for a single day on Mar. 2 is 9.7 cm in 1976, while the Mar. 3 record is 12.4 cm set in 1959 and Mar. 4 record is 12.4 cm set in 1961. Should things reach their worst, Moose Jaw could also touch the record for most snowfall on the ground at 38 cm in 1974.
Conditions are expected to remain cold through the early part of the week, with highs of -15 C and lows in the -20 C range expected, but with mostly clear skies.
Public Safety Canada encourages everyone to make an emergency plan and get an emergency kit with drinking water, food, medicine, a first-aid kit and a flashlight in such situations, and for information on emergency plans and kits go to getprepared.gc.ca.
Be sure to keep an eye on www.weather.gc.ca for regular updates on weather conditions throughout the weekend.
