Januarys in Saskatchewan usually mean highs of -10 and lows of -21 Celsius. But Assiniboia experienced a Wednesday in late January with an unseasonal high of -3. The weather remained stable before hitting a seasonal low of -14 as the day closed at 10 p.m.
A thick blanket of English-styled fog had swept through the town since Tuesday evening. The fog started drifting eastwards through the Cactus Hills north of Moose Jaw and then southwards on the night of January 28. In western Saskatchewan, the Kindersley and Battleford regions were still undergoing Government of Canada fog advisories on Wednesday evening. ÌýÌý
The fog thickened on early Wednesday morning in the R.M. of Lake of the Rivers, blanketing Assiniboia until lifting later in the day. Visibility was poor on all roads leading out of the town for much of Wednesday, including the Number 2 and Number 13 Highways, despite brightening patches later in the afternoon. For the day's majority, Assiniboian drivers could only view stretches of road at near invisible lengths of 4.8-8 kilometres.
Drivers in the western half of Saskatchewan were facing dangerous road conditions on frosted roads since the weekend of January 25-26. Most thoroughfares in the south central region were also icy since last weekend from the abrupt snowmelt in the western, central and southwestern portions of the province along with periods of rain. Four days earlier, the Swift CurrentÌýRCMP Detachment were advising the public against travelling the ice-covered roads in the southwest on Saturday, January 25. In Saskatoon, the city endured a freezing Wednesday with drizzle, fog advisories and slippery highways.
This episode of humid and warmer-than-usual weather in late January in south central Saskatchewan might appear like a brush with spring, but wintry days should be on track for Assiniboians by early February with periods of snow and lows of -15 and possibly colder. Ìý
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