If you have your winter shovels put away for the season, Environment and Climate Change Canada is suggesting you may want to get them out again. A winter storm watch has been issued for Weyburn, along with the rest of southeast Saskatchewan, and it could bring a lot of snow. 

The system, a Colorado low, is expected to bring upwards of 30-50 centimetres of snow. The snowfall is expected to start in earnest Tuesday night, and continue right through to Thursday night. The snow won’t be the only thing associated with this system. 

“Winds gusting 70-90 (km/h) so blizzard conditions, visibility reduced to zero, would not be a surprise here,” said Natalie Hasell, a meteorologist with ECCC. 

The alert for the winter storm watch indicated this system is poised to be the worst winter storm to hit the region in decades. With the conditions as they are, Hasell recommends those who have plans to travel this week postpone them. 

“Do not plan travel for this week,” urged Hasell. “Redo your schedule for this week if you did have travel plans. I know it's very difficult considering it’s Easter coming up and it’s a time when a lot of people want to be together with their families. It will be near impossible, I expect, especially Wednesday-Thursday.” 

The snowfall amounts are expected to hamper travel on highways and within communities as well, with the heavy snowfall being driven by the high winds.  

In addition to the snow, Hasell pointed out another concern that some may have with the large amount of snow that could potentially fall in Weyburn. 

“The time of the storm, through which things will be difficult; the time afterwards to clean up, clear the roads, all that kind of stuff – that’ll take a while, I expect; then all this stuff has to go somewhere, so someone will be impacted by this – if not you, yourself, someone downstream,” Hasell said.  

With the potential for this storm to be the worst in decades, Environment Canada is recommending people should stock up on needed supplies and medications now. Power outages are also likely, according to ECCC, so rural areas should be prepared for extended outages as the conditions will make efforts to restore service difficult. 

The conditions are expected to improve Friday with the winds tapering off, but the clean-up from the storm is expected to last well into next week. Temperatures are likely to not return to normal, either, until next week with the mercury not expected to climb above 0° until Sunday at the earliest.