Winter in Saskatchewan

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2024, Uncategorized

Our cold spell in Saskatchewan is finally easing off!  Currently we are sitting at Minus 5 Celsius (or a balmy 23 above Fahrenheit) and aiming for 0C or 32 above Fahrenheit.

Frigid Arctic air moving in and settling over Saskatchewan in January is not that unusual.  With snow and ice thrown in, chaos and collisions are inevitable on our highways and city streets.

This year, what has been notable during our recent cold spell has been the intensity, quantity, and bizarre nature of  accidents and incidents happening around Saskatchewan (Regina) –  on and off our roads.

One of the earlier, more notable incidents was  an explosion at Luiggi’s Pasta House, when a steel pipe (Experiencing shrinkage due to the frigid temps ?) fell from the roof and struck a gas line fitting.

https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/explosion-fire-at-luiggis-pasta-house-deemed-accidental

This incident was quickly followed by other fires and explosions involving commercial buildings, residences and vehicles… including what appeared to be  one train (which it turned out was  a deliberate effort to repair a rail line connection that had come apart). 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BdPDfT6EkeU55Hr/?mibextid=qi2Omg

With emergency crews working around the clock to extinguish or control fires,  our temperatures set off a new round of chaos caused by water pipes freezing and bursting around the city – most notably at The Delta, one of our most popular convention hotels, a large multi-residential buildings in Harbour Landing (one of our newer sub-divisions), various schools and university buildings, and Regina’s own City Hall.

All of which, of course, was in addition to our typical high incidence of vehicle accidents throughout and around our city – including a city bus, school bus, and a number of semi’s. 

Although, it is a relief that our temperatures are finally rising, troubles are hardly over for those hardest hit by our recent cold snap and those who are working to make things right again. Vehicles are lined up at auto body and mechanical shops around the city, maintenance crews are out working on broken water mains. Contractors, plumbers, and heating professionals are scrambling…. You get the idea. It will take a while for things to be back to normal.

And while the cold spell of 2024 will be remembered (at least until the next one arrives) – so will the heroes that stepped up to help those in need. During such spells, emergency professionals (firemen, police, paramedics, maintenance crews, tow truck drivers… ) are out in force – as are family, friends, neighbours, and strangers who arrive with booster cables, shovels, or a helping hand, when and where they are needed.

On the upside – we won’t have to mow the lawn anytime soon. 👍

Keep safe & warm and have a great day! 🌞💞

20 thoughts on “Winter in Saskatchewan”

  1. Wow, that’s so sad, Anne Marie! Spring can’t arrive soon enough, right? I couldn’t live up there. Maybe this summer will bring record highs too so that Regina can experience both extremes. 🫣

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  2. Hopefully we are done with the worst of it for this year. We were lucky. The only effect we suffered was being without water for a few hours yesterday so the city could repair a water main down the street.

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  7. You wouldn’t think so. Here, there are people who cannot get moving on ice so they press down on the accelerator. We have a train crossing close to us where people do that all the time. I’m just waiting for someone who gets a bit of grip and shoots right off the road.

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  8. Hi AnneMarie,

    In my younger days I dreamed of moving to Saskatchewan; now thanks to your reporting, I’m glad I didn’t. I’d still like to visit – in the summer. 🙃

    Paul

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  9. Hi AnneMarie,

    In my younger days I dreamed of moving to Saskatchewan; now thanks to your reporting, I’m glad I didn’t. I’d still like to visit – in the summer. 🙃

    Paul

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  10. I didn’t know anybody ever dreamt of moving to Saskatchewan 😂. But to be fair, this was a particularly brutal cold snap (and thankfully brief). We had been having a relatively mild winter before it hit.

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  11. We have had so much rain here this winter and minimal sunshine. Another inch of rain in the next couple days. Plus there’s snow on the ground that will be melting. The good thing is for the most part the plows have been able to keep the roads pretty clear unlike the heavier winters we can have here. I love not fighting roads doing 30mph to work!

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  18. My favourite is having to boot it through solid snow drifts and hitting black ice on the other side. I had to drive through about 60 miles of hills to get to my parents and it was hell in the winter. (They lived 120 miles from here but the rest was fairly flat and generally doable.). I’m glad your winter has been easier than usual. (Lexey might not agree. 😂)

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  19. Yikes on 60 miles of hills and then black ice! You are so right on Lexey may not agree! 😂 Saturday when we went into the small city we dealt with very slick roads and she got a taste of how many drifts we can have come up unexpectedly from the wind. 💨

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