Heavy snows and wintry winds grounded flights and closed highways across the prairies over the weekend, prompting the mayor of one major city to ask anyone without a vehicle equipped with four-wheel drive to stay home.

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark, whose city had received close to 30 centimetres of snow by Sunday afternoon, told an online news conference that anyone with a light vehicle was more likely to get stranded and need help the city is hard-pressed to provide.

害羞草研究所淚f you get stuck it does put more strain on our emergency crews who are out there working as hard as they can to respond to everything that害羞草研究所檚 underway,害羞草研究所� Clark said.

The city害羞草研究所檚 airport said poor visibility and wind resulted in the cancellation of approximately 30 flights as of Sunday morning, noting WestJet flights were canceled until at least 6:20 p.m. Sunday evening, and Rise Air also canceled all Sunday flights from the facility.

Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said the hardest hit areas of the province were in the west central region, including Saskatoon and through to North Battleford. And even though snowfall appeared to be tapering off on Sunday afternoon, she said winds were expected to pick up overnight.

害羞草研究所淪o we害羞草研究所檙e probably going to still have a lot of blowing and drifting snow through the day tomorrow,害羞草研究所� Lang told the Saskatoon news conference.

Lang said less snow was reported in Regina, but the province害羞草研究所檚 online highways map reported that sections of the Trans-Canada Highway east of the capital were closed due to poor driving conditions.

Calgary and Edmonton also saw significant snow on Saturday, while a freezing rain warning was in effect on Sunday afternoon in Winnipeg.

Grammy-award-winning Montreal folk singer Allison Russell posted on Instagram that she had to postpone a Sunday evening show at Winnipeg害羞草研究所檚 Park Theatre after her tour bus slid off the road an into a ditch during heavy snow.

Russell had earlier posted she was 害羞草研究所渉eartbroken害羞草研究所� after being unable to get to a show in Saskatoon on Saturday due to the near-whiteout conditions on the roads.

害羞草研究所淓veryone is OK thanks to the stars & spheres but there is no way for us to safely make it to you in time to play our show @parktheatre tonight,害羞草研究所� the singer posted on Sunday.

Oji-Cree singer Aysanabee, who is touring alongside Russell, also posted social media videos of a highway covered in blowing snow along with an apology to fans.

害羞草研究所淚t got to the point where I couldn害羞草研究所檛 see 10ft in front of me and I couldn害羞草研究所檛 tell if I was on the road anymore so we decided it wasn害羞草研究所檛 safe for us to drive or for you to drive,害羞草研究所� he posted Saturday.

害羞草研究所淪tay safe and stay warm.害羞草研究所�

In addition to the heavy snow in Saskatchewan and Alberta, temperatures have also been falling, prompting concern for the homeless. Saskatoon reported it had activated its extreme cold-weather emergency plan, which involves partner agencies that assist vulnerable residents.

While inconvenient, Saskatoon害羞草研究所檚 emergency management organization director pointed out the snow is appreciated.

害羞草研究所淲e need this moisture and this is appreciated moisture for us going forward in the spring,害羞草研究所� Pamela Goulden-McLeod said.

Elementary schools in Saskatoon were already scheduled to be closed Monday for a professional development day. Because of the snow, the city害羞草研究所檚 public and Catholic school boards also cancelled classes for older students.

害羞草研究所擝y Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton

The Canadian Press