With Sask.'s big snow over, big melt begins slowly

CBC News | Posted: April 21, 2023 2:16 PM | Last Updated: April 21, 2023

Swift Current lifts state of emergency declared last week due to spring flood

Image | Sask. Snow storm April 20 2023

Caption: A snow-covered stretch of Highway 1 near Regina is shown on Thursday. By Friday, the worst of storm had passed through the province. (Rob Kruk/CBC)

After an April snowstorm that wreaked havoc in Saskatchewan over the last two days, things mostly wound down Friday.

Although the system had moved on from the northern part of the province and from parts of the west, many highways and roads in the south remained closed throughout Thursday.

By late Friday afternoon, though, the province's road conditions website wasn't showing any road closures.

While the storm system has done damage, experts say such storms are not uncommon at this time of year.

"We get our heaviest snowfalls in the spring," Terri Lang, a meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, told CBC on Thursday.

By that point, the storm was already almost spent.

Travel warnings remain in effect as Sask. snowstorm tapers off

"The end is in sight," Lang said, with the worst already past for many regions in the north and the west by Thursday.

"But the poor old southeast corner [got] stuck in it for a while."

Image | weyburn snow

Caption: A composite of Weyburn resident Nicole Zahorodni's backyard as the snowstorm progressed on Wednesday. Clockwise from large image on left: snow cover at 6:20 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. (Nicole Zahorodni)

However, don't expect a quick melt for all the snow that fell.

At this time of year, "we should have highs in the low teens, and we're not going to be seeing that," said Lang.

"It's going to be struggling to even get above the zero mark. So the melt will be slow, which is probably good news, because we don't want a rapid melt."

Swift Current lifts state of emergency

Meanwhile, the City of Swift Current ended a state of emergency that was declared earlier this month following melting snow and rising waters.

The state of emergency, which was declared on April 11 in response to rising levels in the Swift Current Creek, was lifted as of 10 a.m. CST Friday, the city said in a news release.

Fire Chief Ryan Hunter said any water coming into Swift Current will now flow through the city freely.

"The creek has subsided the water flow substantially, [and] the Swift Current water basin has dropped significantly," Hunter said.

Image | Swift Current Creek

Caption: High water levels at Swift Current Creek on April 11, when a state of emergency was declared. (Swift Current Fire Department/Facebook)

He added that the storm did not bring in as much snowfall to the area as predicted, so the water flow coming into the creek will not be affected.

Over the next few days, the city will remove sand barricades that were set up. Some roads will remain closed as workers remove those bags safely.

With Sask.'s big snow over, big melt begins slowly

Swift Current lifts state of emergency

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