SaskatchewanTravel advisories for some highways in central and northern Saskatchewan have been lifted after freezing rain caused dangerous road conditions Friday evening, though drivers are still being urged to exercise caution.Rain Friday evening left some highways coated in ice, prompting travel advisoriesSarah Onyango · CBC News · Posted: Nov 22, 2025 12:29 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.A file photo shows a vehicle coated by ice after freezing rain. Freezing rain in central and northern Saskatchewan caused dangerous road conditions Friday evening. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)Travel advisories were issued for some highways in central and northern Saskatchewan after freezing rain caused dangerous road conditions Friday evening, which one driver said made the roads like a “skating rink.”As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline showed no current travel advisories, though some highways in the province’s north were still marked as covered or partly covered.Rain on Friday evening left some highways coated in ice, prompting a “travel not recommended” advisory as of 7:30 p.m. Areas affected included highways around Prince Albert, as well as roads near Nipawin, Shoal Lake, Red Earth, Smeaton and Birch Hills.Some highways in northern Saskatchewan remained partly covered or covered as of 11 a.m. Saturday. (Saskatchewan Highway Hotline)In Saskatoon, a multi-vehicle crash in the southbound lanes of 500 block of Circle Drive forced a closure there around 6 p.m., the Saskatoon Police Service said in a news release, urging drivers to slow down and drive cautiously due to freezing rain.There were no serious injuries, despite multiple vehicles being involved, and the closure was lifted just before 9 p.m., the police service said.’Slick ice’ near Prince AlbertShania Evans, who lives in Prince Albert, said her normally 25-minute drive to Birch Hills took about 45 minutes longer Friday evening due to icy roads. “It was slick ice. We only saw one car hit the ditch. We saw lots of people driving with their hazards [on],” Evans said in an interview Saturday.It was “almost like … driving on a skating rink,” she said.A Friday night Facebook post by the volunteer fire department in Muskoday First Nation, southeast of Prince Albert, said the department was directing highway traffic through the community, after icy conditions left many vehicles unable to climb a hill on Highway 3. Another Facebook user captured a video of a semi-truck flipping on the icy highway. A Facebook post showed a semi flipped on its side during icy conditions on Saskatchewan highways on Friday. (Ashley Chester/Facebook)Muskoday vommunity safety officers and firefighters were stationed at key points along the detour, including both sides of the Muskoday bridge, making sure drivers reached the highway safely. Evans, who had her kids in the car with her, praised the department for helping drivers navigate Friday’s hazardous conditions. “They gave us the directions, and when I went to start driving, my car started to slide.… Both my kids at the same time were starting to panic when we were going towards the ditch, of course,” she said.But the person giving her directions “was very kind and just very encouraging, calm and was, like, ‘You’ve got this, just slowly start to go this way,'” said Evans. “We got to the one corner and they had someone else waiting there to tell us, ‘This is the direction to the highway,'” she said.”I have a lot of respect for that, because not only are they getting everybody through there safely, they’re also putting themselves at risk with the conditions that the roads were in last night.” Evans stressed the importance of caution and community support during such weather. “A lot of people were very cautious, and I just hope that everybody made it home safely, because that’s the most important thing.” ABOUT THE AUTHORSarah Onyango is a reporter and producer at CBC Saskatchewan. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Regina. Sarah is passionate about diverse storytelling in Saskatchewan. She can be reached at sarah.onyango@cbc.ca
Freezing rain Friday made highways like ‘driving on a skating rink’
