Not even a week after the first major snowfall of the season, Prince Albert is in for a second, larger dump. (Dawson Thompson/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Snowstorm Ahead

Heavy snow, high winds, freezing rain: Winter weather hodgepodge headed for Prince Albert

Nov 15, 2021 | 12:00 PM

Although Prince Albert and the surrounding area aren’t that far removed from a healthy deposit of snow, Mother Nature is not done with us yet. Another, even heavier snowfall is on the way.

Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for Prince Albert, and for much of the rest of the province as well. Just how bad the storm hits will vary from place to place, but the snow that still sits on the roads in Prince Albert is about to have plenty of company.

“We’re looking at a potent system, stronger than what we saw last time, swinging through from Alberta,” said Sara Hoffman, meteorologist with Environment Canada. “It will spread 20 to 30 centimetres for the Prince Albert area. Areas to the north will see a heavier amount, but for the Prince Albert area, 20 to 30 is a good estimate once the system is all over and done with by Thursday morning.”

According to Hoffman, the snow should start relatively lightly sometime this evening and carry on overnight. The nastiest of the weather is due to arrive in Prince Albert sometime tomorrow morning, and it won’t be just snow that people have to worry about.

“Tuesday is going to be the worst day in terms of weather conditions with this system,” Hoffman said. “We have the chance of freezing rain early in the morning on Tuesday. We have heavy falling snow on Tuesday, and we have strong wind gusts kicking in on Tuesday as well.”

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Efforts have been ongoing for the past few days to clear parking lots. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Those wind gusts will be at their strongest in the southwest of the province, though there could be gusts as strong as 100 kilometres per hour reaching as far north as North Battleford. While those will likely miss Prince Albert, the city isn’t going to dodge the wind entirely.

“In Prince Albert, we’re expecting a little bit weaker, around that 50 to 70-kilometre-per-hour gust mark,” Hoffman said. “But Tuesday we’re expecting very poor visibility in the heavy falling snow and blowing snow. I would encourage anyone, if you have travel plans on Tuesday that you’re checking the road conditions before you head out, or actually, if you can, just change them because we already know Tuesday is going to be a terrible day for travel.”

It might seem a bit cruel to have one heavy snowfall so soon on top of another that the streets aren’t even cleared from the first one before the second begins. This, however, is not uncommon according to Hoffman.

“I would call that fall on the prairies,” Hoffman said. “That’s a very common thing… I hope everyone has remembered how to drive in winter conditions. Slow down, make sure lights are on even in the middle of the day, make sure you’ve got a scraper and a snow brush.”

Hoffman added if you do put winter tires on your vehicle, now is the time to make sure you have them on. Danny Goodwin, Owner of Gateway North Towing, plans to spend his Monday checking over his trucks and equipment, in anticipation of a busy day Tuesday.

“We’re expecting it to be absolutely swamped because at the end of the day people will have to go out and do the things of everyday life and not everybody can stay home so you know there’s lots of people who have no choice but to travel,” he said

That being said, Goodwin asks people who can avoid travel, to stay home.

“People have to realize that we have to go out there to help them, which is what we do but it puts both of the parties in a very dangerous situation,” he said.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP