WEYBURN - As we headed into the weekend, a Big Switch upstairs was turned on, and suddenly we witnessed the arrival of wintery weather.
As I write this on Tuesday morning, yet more wintery weather is here, causing all sorts of difficulties, accidents and general mayhem on the streets and highways of the province.
We knew it was coming, since we do live in Canada after all. We were spoiled by some very nice mild weather all the way into mid-November, but Old Man Winter got impatient and said, ‘Enough of this nonsense, let’s get down to the real weather ...’
I watched these huge flakes of snow fall on Saturday morning as I ate breakfast, and then drove south on slushy highways to Midale for the annual Santa Parade.
Those who are superstitious may feel they could blame the parade for the onset of this weather, but really the snow would have come anyway, with or without a parade.
The drive was a little scary at first, as slushy snow can be extremely slippery, but at a reduced speed and four-wheel drive engaged, I was able to make it down to about Ralph, and the roads were suddenly just wet and not really very slushy at all.
It was only later that I heard there had been an accident on that stretch of highway only a few kilometres from Weyburn. I could certainly see exactly how such an accident could occur, as the roads were really not in very good condition.
As area motorists will know, this is only the start of our winter. There will be many, many more days, nights and snowfall warning between now and next spring when all of this white stuff will melt away again.
Clearly we need to acclimatize to the weather and get used to driving with caution again, but in the meantime, there are bound to be slips through intersections and on icy streets and highways after being spoiled by the nice fall weather for so long.
There is no magic to it, no real hints or tips that would make much of a difference, other than slowing down and being cautious if you do have to drive on a highway or street.
For those able, changing to snow tires would also be a good idea, or at the very least, take extra time and don’t be in such a hurry.
