The City said contractors are being brought in as they become available to assist with snow removal efforts. (Image Credit: City of Prince Albert/Facebook)

By Teena Monteleone

Making progress

Snow removal efforts continue as temperatures drop significantly below average

Feb 19, 2026 | 1:47 PM

Instead of thinking warm, happy thoughts, it appears Mother Nature has turned a little…crusty.

The system that impacted much of the province over the last few days with heavy snow has moved out and weakened. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) warning preparedness meteorologist Danielle Desjardins said now a ridge of high pressure is building in the province, and it’s going to usher in some bitterly cold Arctic air.

“That’s going to stick around for at least the next four days with extremely below normal temperatures, and we’re expecting below seasonal temperatures will last til the end of the month,” said Desjardins. “Keep an eye out, especially over the weekend for potential cold warnings that get issued. We’re going to see overnight lows around the -30 C mark and even a tiny gust of wind could push those wind chill values to near -40 C.”

Some of those cold warnings have already started for west central Saskatchewan, including Meadow Lake.  

Typical daytime highs for this time of year in places like Prince Albert hover around -7 C, with overnight lows of -19 C.

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“It’s about ten to fifteen degrees below normal for this time of year.”

The bitter cold comes as residents across the province try to dig their way out of what appears to be the largest snowfall event so far this winter. According to weather stations and volunteers who report to Environment Canada, total snowfall accumulation over a 48-hour period reached 45 cm at Emma Lake, Prince Albert received 35 cm, Saskatoon 19 cm, and Meadow Lake 12 cm.

Snow removal operations continue across Prince Albert

Snow removal crews continue to clear priority emergency routes, and the City said they are making steady progress

“Our roadways crew has been working long hours to keep up with the heavy snowfall, needing to return to emergency routes that had already been cleared. They worked 16 hours yesterday and started again early this morning,” said Jeff Da Silva, Director of Public Works, in a media release.

“We’ll be working as many hours as safely possible to keep tracking moving, starting with emergency routes, then transit routes, and finally throughout the rest of the city.”

A snow lift is planned on Sunday to address significant accumulation in the Downtown Business District. The City said contractors are being brought in as they become available to assist with snow removal efforts.

Residents can track the progress of snow clearing on the Snow Operations Map.

A Snow Route Parking Ban remains in effect. It requires drivers to immediately remove their vehicles from Snow Routes, as indicated by signs.

Transit services have been impacted due to road conditions and are working to restore transit routes to normal operations. Any changes are posted on the City’s Transit News page.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com