This morning, people across the southeast woke up to essentially the calm before the storm. 

With temperatures in Weyburn as mild at 7° at 5:00 a.m., it would seem like any other idyllic spring day. But to the west, a system is gearing up to come screaming across the prairies like a banshee. 

The coming system has prompted Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to issue a wind warning for much of Saskatchewan, including Weyburn. A blowing snow advisory is also in place. 

Ahead of the storm, a few scattered showers are expected before the cold front actually reaches the southeast, according to Mike Russo from ECCC. Behind the rain will be the storm itself. 

“As the cold front approaches Weyburn, should be towards midday, and what we’ll see is winds picking up out of the northwest, gusting up to about 90 or 100 kilometres an hour, so extremely strong winds behind this cold front, and in addition to that, we will have some falling snow,” Russo explained. 

The heaviest snowfalls expected in Saskatchewan are anticipated in the northern Grainbelt, with up to 15 centimetres falling there. In the southeast, 2-5 centimetres of snow is expected. The winds will also be blowing the snow around as it falls here in the Weyburn area. 

The system is expected to move off to the east by late Tuesday morning. 

Another key thing with the system is a sudden drop in temperatures. The daytime high for Weyburn is expected to be 7°, which was seen at 5:00 a.m. From there, temperatures will be falling down to 1° in the afternoon and then freezing overnight. The cold front coming through, with the rain showers ahead of it, could lead to some less-than-ideal driving conditions, according to Russo, as the dropping temperatures and high winds creating conditions ripe for flash freezing. 

The system is shaping up to be similar to the storm seen in Saskatchewan in January, where wind speeds in excess of 100 km/h resulted in power outages across the province.  

Yesterday, SaskPower stated they were getting ready for the storm, and the potential outages, by having crews on standby. They are reminding residents of the province who come across downed power lines to stay back 10 metres, or roughly 33 feet, and to call SaskPower, or 911 in the case of an emergency.