Winnipeg Blue Bombers Shawn Gallant, left, and Brady Browne sit in the snow near the goalpost during practice Saturday morning. (Joe Bryksa/Canadian Press)The Prairie provinces experienced an abrupt change of season, as a snowstorm slammed Manitoba and cold temperatures turned Saskatchewan highways into icy danger zones.

Winnipeg went from a breezy fall directly into a winter wonderland Friday, when a storm blanketed the city with 12 centimetres of snow in less than 24 hours.

"Since records have been kept in Winnipeg, and that's from the late 1800s, there's only been about five days in the first third of October that have had snowfalls of 10 centimetres or more," Dan Fulton, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, told CBC News on Saturday. "It's definitely in the unusual category."

The skies in Regina on Saturday were a bleak grey as winter made an early arrival in the Prairie city. People across Saskatchewan and Manitoba are coping with icy temperatures, snow and wind during the Thanksgiving long weekend. (John Weidlich/CBC)

In Saskatchewan, the provincial government activated its Highways Hotline about four weeks earlier than usual. On Saturday morning, the system was showing icy and slippery sections on highways from Carlyle and Weyburn in the southeast to Meadow Lake and La Ronge in the north.

"It's time for people to get back in that winter driving mindset," Doug Wakabayashi, a spokesman for the Highways Ministry, told CBC News.

"Our crews, our equipment are ready to go. All of our materials are ready to go, and if the conditions warrant, they will be out in force."

Snow fell on Taylor Field at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Friday. (CBC)

The weather may be affecting ticket sales for a Saturday football contest in Regina between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts.

The home team has been enjoying a sell-out season, with most tickets snapped up long before game day. By Saturday morning, however, seats were still available.