Highway near Rosetown on March 7, 2022 (Facebook/Rhonda Werstiuk)

By Brent Bosker/650 CKOM News

Sask. highway closures, travel warnings due to vicious winds, blowing snow

Mar 8, 2022 | 9:48 AM

The strong winds that blew through Saskatchewan on Monday made for a treacherous evening and morning on the roads around the province.

Numerous highways were closed around Moose Jaw and Regina overnight and into Tuesday morning.

As of 9:30 a.m., the highways across the province that were closed included Highway 2 from Moose Jaw south to Assiniboia, Highway 9 south from Whitewood, Highway 10 at Balgonie due to a jackknifed semi on the overpass, and stretches of highways 13, 19, 35, 36, 37, 47, 48, 56 and 363.

Travel was not recommended on the Trans-Canada from Regina to the Manitoba border and from Mortlach to Swift Current.

The same advisory was in place for the Regina Bypass, Highway 11 from Aylesbury to Davidson and from Dundurn to Saskatoon, the Yellowhead Highway from Saskatoon to Sheho, Highway 39 from Moose Jaw to the U.S. border, and numerous other roads.

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The wind created extreme snow drifting on Claypool Drive in Saskatoon, forcing that road to temporarily close. The brutal conditions also resulted in numerous vehicles sliding into highway ditches.

Dustin was caught in a long line of vehicles on Highway 16 west of Colonsay after a semi lost control and blocked both lanes.

“The double lane to Clavet is good, but after Allan, the roads conditions change drastically. You see more accumulated snow with an icy layer,” he said.

Amber had an awful time driving into Saskatoon from Dundurn.

A drive that normally takes about 15 minutes she said took over 45 minutes.

“Everything is a complete whiteout,” she said. “You’re basically playing guess where the road is.”

A blowing snow advisory continued Tuesday morning for Saskatoon and Regina.

Environment Canada meteorologist Brad Vrolik says the blustery conditions would hang around until the afternoon before conditions improve.

“Beginning close to lunch, and through the afternoon, the winds will gradually diminish and we’ll start to see an improvement to conditions,” Vrolik said.

“If you’re out driving this morning, you ‘ll likely see patches of good visibility and patches of extremely poor visibility.”