The recent snow squall that took out a majority of west central roadways, was described by many as the worst storm they had ever been apart of. We spoke with several people, each drastically effected by the blizzard, who were kind enough to share what they witnessed.

The day started out just as any other, though the storm threat did loom large. Winds remained at over 100 km/h for most of the afternoon into the evening, carrying the snowstorm and its treacherous conditions across west central. Ice covered roads seemed to follow the storm, after the first main wreck of the day saw Highway 7 east closed near Laura. At one point, almost every highway in the west central region was closed. 

t quick and remain on the side of the highway. He was eventually turned around once tow trucks arrived on scene, where his wait started. He says it must have been quite a pileup behind the initial wreck, with three semi’s jack-knifed in the ditch, as well as four cars in the ditch.

“For the first 3 hours of being there, I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t see the hood of my truck, or the guy beside me only 10 ft from my window.”

As terrible as the experience was, it is something that will likely never be forgotten. He has been driving truck for over 10 years, and cannot recall anything similar. He noted it was fine when he left home, and even for the most part when he was ready to leave his work-site, but by the time he got on the highway the storm had already began brewing.

“I was just amazed, I couldn’t believe it”

He also mentioned that during a detour, they encountered yet another storm casualty blocking the road. They stopped on the grid, forcing another detour on the already altered route.

{gallery}Thomas Dale{/gallery}

Following a common theme here, Karen Resch was just trying to get home from work when she found herself stuck west of town. She obviously started to take note of her situation, as she was no-doubt ready for a long night, before two “Snow Angels” in Reed and Brock came to her rescue.

“I was stuck there for a number of hours, about 5 I guess. I was just waiting and then there was a face at my window that said ‘you want a pull?’,” said Karen.

She says the help came not long after they were pulled out themselves, before offering to lead her back to safety in Kindersley. Stopped about 18 km west of Kindersley, Resch was on her way back from Marengo and hadn’t seen many vehicles on the way.

She faced a few tense moments during her wait, as the scary nature of her night did not hit until she got home. She took the option on her trip to Marengo the next day, leaving the roads alone after the wild experience faced the night before.

View more pictures from the blizzard below.

{gallery}Jan2021 Blizzards{/gallery}