Police were kept busy with reports of jackknifed semis, cars and ditches and rollovers like this one on Regina's Ring Road. (Courtesy Barry Simmons via Twitter)

Winter may have saved the worst for last, with a wicked storm that dumped 20 centimetres of snow on some areas of Saskatchewan and made highway travel a nightmare for many.

On Monday morning, the RCMP reported that over 155 motor vehicle crashes had been called in over the past half a day.

There were rollovers, numerous cars in ditches, and several jackknifed semi-trucks.

Stockholm, Sask. man killed

Among the crashes was one near Esterhazy that killed a man from Stockholm, Sask.

The RCMP said the man's car and a sport utility vehicle collided on Highway 22 at 6:15 a.m.

The woman driving the SUV is in hospital in Esterhazy with unspecified injuries.

Two vehicles that stopped to help out were also involved in a minor crash.

One person was taken to hospital from that accident, while the other driver was unhurt.

Jackknifed semi

A jackknifed semi west of Parkbeg, Sask., caused big traffic problems over the noon hour. About 150 semis and other vehicles were backed up in the westbound lane of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Poor conditions on wide swath of highways

Earlier that morning, a large section of the Trans-Canada — from Belle Plaine west of Regina to Rush Lake east of Swift Current — was closed.

Travel was not recommended across most of the south, including Highway 11 between Regina and Saskatoon.

A similar warning applied to travel out of Saskatoon and Regina on other highways.

'I've driven through blizzards and horrible conditions but this — much worse than I expected.'—Trucker, Alex Di Grazia

The storm was also causing problems with students getting to school.

The Sun West School Division in west-central Saskatchewan and the Moose Jaw-area Prairie South School Division said school buses would be cancelled in both city and rural areas.

West of Regina, many truckers had pulled over and were waiting out the storm.

"The roads are … just all ice," said trucker Alex Di Grazia, who said blowing snow had hurt visibility.

"I've driven through blizzards and horrible conditions but this … much worse than I expected."

Students spend night in town office

Meanwhile, some Yorkton high school students likely won't forget their band trip this weekend.

They were returning from Banff Sunday night when their bus hit the ditch along the Trans-Canada.

Luckily, the town of Morse opened up its town hall, so 150 students and parents had a place to sleep, band director Mark Zawerucha said.

"It shows our students what small town hospitality is all about," Zawerucha said.

The Highways Ministry was advising drivers to check the Highway Hotline before heading out.

Yorkton students returning from a Banff band trip spent the night in the Morse town hall after their bus went into the ditch. (Courtesy Crystal Riffel)