Morden hit with 25 centimetres as southern Manitoba digs out of winter wallop

Mother Nature is not happy with Manitoba for some reason.

After a week of extreme cold temperatures, the southern half of the province is now a blustery, stormy place with poor visibility and rutted roads.

The area is blanketed by a snowfall warning due to a low-pressure system that blew in Sunday evening and is expected to linger until late Monday morning.

Morden was hardest hit, with 25 centimetres of powder. 

From Environment Canada:

• Morden: 25 centimetres. 
• Morris: 21 centimetres. 
• Winnipeg: 12-18 centimetres.
• Ste. Anne: 17 centimetres. 
• Holland: 16 centimetres. 
• St. Pierre-Jolys: 15 centimetres. 
• Schanzenfeld: 15 centimetres. 
• Brandon: 15 centimetres. 
• Zhoda: 14 centimetres. 
• Steinbach: 12 centimetres. 
• Whiteshell: 10 centimetres. 
• Miami: 10 centimetres. 
• Portage la Prairie: 10 centimetres. 

Meanwhile, the north remains under extreme cold warnings due to north winds that are creating wind chills of –45 to –50. Those chilling conditions are expected to persist for the next few days, said Environment Canada.

All of the school closures and bus cancellations can be found on CBC Manitoba's Storm Centre.

In Winnipeg, winds gusting up to 50 km/h are creating dangerous drifts on streets and highways. Plows are out trying to clear the clogged the roads.

Britney Bergman, huddled at a bus stop on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, said she had to walk through calf- and knee-high drifts to get there.

She preferred the trudging over the –50 wind chill of last week — but not by much,

"This is better than what I've been dealing with last week, because it's like really, really cold and all the buses were so late. So I'd say this is kind of better but I [still] hate it."

Environment Canada meteorologist Shannon Moodie said the city received about 10-12 centimetres overnight. The totals being reported are variable due to the wind, she said.

"It's more about the blowing snow than it is about the snowfall amounts," said CBC meteorologist John Sauder.

"Visibility is low and if traffic is passing in the other direction and kicking up all that light, fluffy snow, it's dropping to near zero at times."

The highest snowfall amounts in the province — closer to 15 cm — will be near international border. And another two to four centimetres are expected from the system before it moves into Ontario by Monday afternoon, said Moodie.

Even after that, however, snow will continue to fall.

I realize I'm an anomaly. I love snow. If it feels like fall during winter, it doesn't feel right. This feels right.-Al Lorde

"There's still a lot of light snow behind the system, bringing flurries," Moodie said.

That's all good for Al Lorde, who was wearing three layers and a big smile at the bus stop in Winnipeg.

"I realize I'm an anomaly. I love snow," he said. "If it feels like fall during winter, it doesn't feel right. This feels right."

While he wasn't as thrilled about last week's extreme cold, Lord said it's all part of winter.

"You either bundle up or you stay inside, it's one of those things," he said. "Just be prepared, if you can be. I realize sometimes it's hard, especially if you don't have some place to go."

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson said 200 plows and sanding trucks are working to clear main routes, bus routes and collector streets. Sidewalk clearing is also taking place on the same routes.

Plows are also targeting trouble spots prone to drifting snow while alley clearing will begin Tuesday morning.

Cold coming back

If the snow wasn't enough, the cold is returning to southern Manitoba, too, Sauder said.

"Our temperatures stay on the cold side of normal through the rest of this week. So there's another Arctic push," he said. 

"Our daytime highs will struggle to get past about –22 C, –23 C through the rest of the week. And overnight lows will be closer to –28 C or –30 C."

As well, another five centimetres of snow will likely fall Tuesday night into Wednesday, Sauder said.

"Last week I was saying put away the extension cords for now and get out the shovels. I think this week we're going to need both."