Blizzard Hits Southwest

Heavy snow hits Maple Creek on Monday (Photo submitted by Kim Reznechenko)

A nasty winter storm is pounding parts of southwest Saskatchewan.

A blizzard warning remains in effect for areas along the Alberta boundary, including Maple Creek, Leader and the Cypress Hills, with those areas receiving heavy snow and blowing snow causing near-zero visibility today. Environment Canada says the blizzard conditions are expected to end later this evening.

The weather agency reported earlier today that 15 to 20 centimetres of new snow fell over Maple Creek since last night, and there was even some "thundersnow" in the Cypress Hills.

The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure says the Trans-Canada Highway has been closed from Piapot to the Alberta border, because of near-zero visibility, snow-packed and slippery conditions. They are also not recommending travel on highways in the Maple Creek and Consul areas, as well as Highway 1 west from Swift Current to the Tompkins/Piapot area, and Highway 4 south of the city to the US Border.

For the latest road conditions, call the Highway Hotline at 1-888-335-7623, or click the road report link on Swift Current Online. You can also get road conditions for Alberta highways from the Alberta Motor Association's website. Coincidentally, the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure launched a new Highway Hotline website for mobile devices today, which allows users to check the same road condition maps that are on the Highway Hotline's main website right on their smartphone. Drivers are reminded that it is illegal in Saskatchewan to use a handheld cellphone while driving.

The storm has prompted the Chinook School Division to cancel the video satellite location in Eastend for their Annual General Meeting to be held tonight. The meeting will still go ahead at the Chinook Education Centre (2100 Gladstone St E) in Swift Current at 7:30pm.

Some more photos of the storm submitted to our newsroom:

Submitted by Christina Wagner

Submitted by Christina Wagner

If you have any more photos of the snow that you would like to share with us, you can email them to scnews@goldenwestradio.com, or post them to our timeline on Swift Current Online's facebook page.