Red lines on the Saskatchewan government's highway conditions map mark roads that are either closed or not recommended for travel due to the current weather conditions. (Government of Saskatchewan)

A massive winter storm blowing its way through parts of Saskatchewan and into Manitoba is wreaking havoc, with many people waking Sunday to power outages, icy highways and whiteout conditions.

Public utility SaskPower confirmed that the blizzard caused a number of power problems in southern Saskatchewan.

Communities including Coronach, Rockglen and Kincaid were in the dark, said SaskPower spokesman James Parker.

'It looks really grim.'-Dave Carlson, Environment Canada

Parker said crews are out trying to correct problems, but said the driving conditions are hampering efforts to fix things quickly. He asked for people's patience.

"There could be a line down some place … but you have to find it. It's not as if there's a monitor someplace that tells you exactly where the line is down. You have to patrol the line, and these are difficult conditions in which to patrol," he said.

"Those communities are going to be without power well into Sunday," Parker added.

The lights and heat at Kyla Thompson's home in Gravelbourg went out at her home at 9 p.m. Saturday. She said she and some friends spent a chilly night huddling under blankets to stay warm.

The small town, located about 120 kilometres southwest of Moose Jaw, is absolutely covered in snow, she said.

"Every doorstep you can't get to … there's snow in front of it. It's high, and it's blowing snow hard since last night," Thompson said.

"Snow is everywhere … up to windows."

Environment Canada was reporting wind gusts reaching 70 km/h around Regina and also east of Moose Jaw that were set to continue through Sunday afternoon. Saturday night and early Sunday morning, some spots in the southwest of the province were seeing 100 km/h wind gusts, spokesperson Dave Carlson said.

Highway travel thwarted

Saskatchewan's highways department was advising motorists to stay put, with many major thoroughfares being listed as either "closed" or "travel not recommended" at 11:30 a.m. CT.

Carlson said the gusts are causing whiteouts on highways that drastically reduce visibility.

"There's 800 metres visibility being reported on the Trans-Canada between Regina and Swift Current — and I have no doubt that out in a bit more open country there is zero visibility with some of that snow coming across the road.

"It looks really grim," Carlson said. "It's going to take most of the day before the worst of the snow and blowing snow clears."

In Manitoba, Carlson said people should brace for a harsh return of winter after about two weeks of balmy temperatures. Although the high temperature in Winnipeg on Sunday was expected to reach 1 C, the mercury will plunge to –17 C by Monday afternoon, Carlson said.

Much of the province is currently under weather warnings, and in Winnipeg and the Red River Valley, 70 km/h gusts are expected by Monday morning. The winds, combined with expected snowfall, will create blizzard conditions, Carlson said.

"It looks like we'll get two to four centimetres … and it'll be just enough to make it really, really bad when the wind kicks in from the north," he said.

Some parts of western-central Manitoba and north to the city of Thompson are already reporting heavy snowfall.

The town of Flin Flon was blanketed by 20 centimetres of snow overnight Saturday, with a total of 30 centimetres expected to fall by Sunday night.

RCMP and Winnipeg police have issued reminders for motorists to slow down while travelling. Links to current highway conditions throughout Saskatchewan and Manitoba are at the top right of this story.