Southern Saskatchewan will see its first blast of winter tonight (Mon).

There is a snowfall warning in effect for a swath of the province including Kindersley, Rosetown, Biggar, Wilkie, Macklin, Outlook, Watrous, Hanley, Imperial, and Dinsmore where Environment Canada is forecasting 10 to 15 cm of snow beginning tonight and ending tomorrow.

Heavy snow is expected to develop over the southwestern corner of the province later today and spread east-northeast through the night. The heaviest snow will track between Regina and Saskatoon early Tuesday morning. The snow will continue towards the Yorkton region before dissipating later Tuesday.

The snow associated with this system is expected to be relatively intense with snowfall rates as high as 2-3 cm per hour. While some snow will likely melt on contact with the relatively warm ground, the high intensity will still likely allow 10 to 15 cm of snow to pile up along the swath of heaviest accumulations.

Environment Canada says for the rest of southern and central Saskatchewan the mild fall weather will come to an abrupt end this week as a cold front moving southward gives showers and ushers in the first Arctic air of the season. Highs will drop to the single digits through much of the week before colder air moves in late week with temperatures in the -5-to–10-degree Celsius range likely by next weekend and into Halloween.

snowfall warning map below