The La Ronge Airport is the third busiest in Saskatchewan. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

snowfall

Extreme weather leads to cancelled flights at La Ronge Airport

Apr 17, 2024 | 3:58 PM

Data from Environment and Climate Change Canada estimates between 14 to 20 centimetres of snow has fallen in La Ronge in the last 48 hours.

“We did have a very active weather system coming through over the last few days,” said meteorologist Brian Proctor.

“We saw a low-pressure area that sort of formed over north central Alberta, then track southeast right along the northern tier of the grain belt or the southern tier of the parkland. It sort of tracked southeastward and really tracked through fairly nicely.”

Proctor explained the weather system was widespread with Saskatoon receiving 20 cm of snow and Regina getting upwards to four cm. He noted, however, the area northeast of Saskatoon up through La Ronge and towards the Manitoba border received the most amount of snow.

Proctor added a strong weather system like the one moving through La Ronge isn’t common for this time of year, but it also isn’t atypical.

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“Oftentimes, this is sort of the shoulder season where we transition from a winter into spring where we often see our biggest snowfalls, especially in the boreal forest and that’s what really happened in this case,” he said.

The snowfall has led to slush conditions on local roadways. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

“What really enhanced this system was the cold air that came in on the backside of this low-pressure area. Even La Ronge right now is –3 C. We’re expecting for temperatures to hold that range for tomorrow as well, then gradually recover as you move through the end of the work week and the start of the weekend.”

The storm moving through has caused air carriers to cancel flights departing and arriving at the La Ronge Airport. Manager Jim Burr said Wednesday is the busiest day of the week for the airport.

“The cancellations are not due to the runway not being suitable for landing,” Burr noted.

“The maintenance has been done here and the runway is open, but due to visibility and the conditions of airports at other locations in the North, the individual air carriers may choose to cancel flights today.”

Burr stated cancelled flights are typically completed the following day, but he said if snow continues to fall in La Ronge and northern Saskatchewan, flights may not resume again until Friday.

“We’ve been going hard all day in order to keep the runway open,” Burr said.

“Even if air carriers choose to cancel their scheduled or charted flights, we still need the airport open for emergencies. We’re busy ensuring the runway is in usable condition.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com