There might not have been massive power outages and a literal foot of snow to deal with, but conditions in and around Moose Jaw remained treacherous after the latest wintery blast throughout the evening Saturday and into Sunday morning.
Rain turned to snow around 5 p.m. on Saturday and continued to fall throughout the evening, combined with winds gusting to 80 km/h. As the temperatures fell, things quickly became extremely icy on streets and sidewalks in Moose Jaw, making driving and even walking a risky venture.
The Trans Canada Highway from Belle Plaine to Regina remained closed as of 1 p.m. Sunday, with the Highway Hotline reporting the highway as ice covered with snow drifts, drifting snow and poor visibility. Winter driving conditions exist on all other highways around Moose Jaw.
City of Moose Jaw street cleaning and sanding crews were once again hard at work throughout the evening and into Sunday attempting to keep up with the conditions, and will continue their efforts as they can.
While only 4.7 millimetres of snow fell Saturday, the winds created drifts across streets and driveways, making getting around the community difficult in areas for those without four-wheel drive vehicles.
Fortunately, there were few power outages recorded in the Moose Jaw area, a far cry from the hit taken a couple of weeks ago during the first winter storm of the season -- a blast that left some in rural communities without power for days.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the end of it just yet.
Snow is expected to fall on and off throughout the day on Sunday, with temperatures falling to -14 C overnight and creating a windchill of -20 C. Heavier snowfall is expected Monday, with a high of -7 C and winds increased to 60 km/h near noon, with a windchill near -22 C in the morning and -17 C in the afternoon.
The rest of the week through Thursday is expected to see snow at points during the day, with high temperatures hitting double digits on the minus side of things later in the week: -10 C on Wednesday, -13 C on Thursday, with lows touching -16 C.
For the latest updates on highway conditions, be sure to visit www.hotline.gov.sk.ca, and be sure to keep an eye on your favourite weather website or app for the latest information on upcoming conditions.
