Nwamaka Onyejekwe waited for nearly two hours on the side of a road Thursday night.
She was travelling to Moose Jaw from Regina and barely made it three kilometres out of the city’s south end before she was met with blowing snow, she said.
“My greatest fear was even if someone is coming to get me it’s not safe to bring somebody out at this time of night. It’s not safe for anyone to come here. And again my mind was on the gas, right? It was like, what if my gas gets finished?”
Onyejekwe said she left Regina at 9:45 p.m. CST, and despite turning around before getting to Moose Jaw, didn’t get home until after midnight.
“I thought about a lot,” she said.
Her thoughts included all the things she would do differently next time. She will now always make sure to have a blanket, food and water in the vehicle, she said.
Nwamaka Onyejekwe, a Regina resident, spent nearly two hours on the side of the road during Thursday night’s storm. (Submitted by Nwamaka Onyejekwe )
Poor visibility and weather conditions led to multiple collisions and closed highways in central and southern parts of the province on Thursday night and into Friday.
In a Friday morning news release, Saskatchewan RCMP said officers were at the scene of a multiple vehicle pileup near the intersection of Highway 46 and Highway 1, southwest of Balgonie, Sask.
Highway 46 will be closed for an undetermined amount of time, the release said. RCMP does not yet have information of any injuries related to the pile-up.
Highway 1 is not recommended for travel.
Police warned that multiple other Regina highways are closed and not safe for travel. That includes Highway 10, south of the 364 junction near Edgeley, where police are responding to a collision that is still under investigation.
As of 10:30 a.m. CST. RCMP responded to over 40 collision reports. Most calls for help are coming from areas near Prince Albert, Fort Qu’Appelle and Regina. That could include vehicles in the ditch, collisions, and vehicle rollovers, RCMP said.
“It can be deceiving. It looks sunny out, you look outside and you can see blue skies,” RCMP spokesperson Mandy Maier said at a Friday weather update. “But it’s not necessarily the road conditions that are causing this, it is that visibility piece.”
Mandy Maier, a spokesperson for Saskatchewan RCMP said weather conditions affecting roads and visibility, including ice, snow-covered lanes, blowing snow and strong winds. (Submitted by Saskatchewan RCMP)
Maier said weather conditions are affecting roads and visibility, including ice, snow-covered lanes, blowing snow and strong winds.
She advised people to check the weather and road conditions along their route before travelling.
“Even when those roads open, we’re asking people to be cautious because we don’t know what those roads look like,” Maier said.
Weather changing quickly: highways ministry
Highways ministry spokesman Dan Palmer said the weather is changing “quickly and rapidly.” Wind “plays a major factor in snow and ice conditions,” he said.
“It could take not as much snow and a lot of high winds and the next thing you know the visibility is challenging for motorists out there.”
Crews treating the highways with salt, sand or chemicals can also contribute to drifts forming on the roads. Palmer asked drivers to give the crews lots of space to do their jobs.
Palmer emphasized that conditions are constantly changing and the hotline is updated to reflect that.
Maier said those who have to travel should start with a full tank of gas, a fully charged phone, safety supplies and food.
It’s important to slow down and drive to the road for the conditions, not the speed limit.
Maier acknowledged people may have weekend plans.
“We know it can be frustrating,” she said. “Sometimes weather makes it difficult and unsafe to make it to your destination. We want everyone to get home safe.”
Police are reminding people to refrain from calling 911 or local RCMP for updates on road conditions; the line is reserved for emergencies and crimes in progress. RCMP noted travelers can access information on road conditions and which roads have been plowed, salted and sanded within the last two hours at hotline.gov.sk.ca/map.
The City of Regina says there was not enough snowfall Thursday to use snow routes or a systematic plow.
Instead, crews are focused on high-speed roads, providing ice control at major intersections and clearing roads around outer areas of the city.
The city has crews scheduled seven days a week 20 hour shifts, seven days a week during the winter.
“We set those crews up in those shifts so we can address any winter maitenence conditions that we may experience,” said Chris Warren, the city’s director of roadways and transportation.
“When we experience storms like this we do increase our hours to 24 hours.”
‘You’ll be needing to bundle up again’: Environment Canada
A system that rolled through much of Saskatchewan Thursday night had peak winds in southern Saskatchewan reaching up to 104 km/h for areas near Coronach and Estevan.
Christy Climenhaga, a scientist with Environment Canada, said while some relief is expected Friday afternoon, it won’t be for long.
“It does look like we have another system kind of waiting in the wings for this weekend, this one looking a little less strong.”
Climenhaga said gusts could reach up to 80 km/h in some areas beginning on Saturday and continuing into Sunday.
“[It’s] a little early to say exactly where we’re going to see those strongest winds, but some windy conditions expected,” she said.
The Thursday system was accompanied by a drop in temperature, which is expected to continue into the weekend.
Climenhaga noted temperatures for areas near Regina could reach single digits on Saturday, before dropping to colder temperatures on Sunday and into Monday.
“You’ll be needing to bundle up again as we do see those flustery conditions and temperatures back to a little below seasonal by the end of the weekend.”
