Southern Manitoba hit by fresh snow, slick roads and crisp temperatures

Southern Manitoba is getting a little taste of winter but it's not expected to last.

An Alberta clipper arrived late Wednesday evening in the west, first bringing rain and then snow. It also brought a flurry of weather alerts, many of which were lifted by early Thursday afternoon, and power outages.

Snowfall warnings remain in effect in the province's southeast corner, as the storm system makes its way into Ontario.

In Winnipeg, Manitoba Hydro reported early Thursday afternoon that 1,300 customers were without power, including 400 homes in Norwood Flats. The lights went out around 1:30 p.m. in that area. 

About 1,300 customers in Transcona had been left without power earlier in the day thanks to trees on line, but Hydro reported power had been restored shortly after noon.

As the system moved into the province, weather warnings covered nearly all areas immediately west, south and east of Winnipeg — Brandon, Neepawa, Carberry, Killarney, Morden, Winkler, Altona, Morris, Portage la Prairie, Headingley, Carman, Steinbach, St. Adolphe, Emerson and Richer.

Snow, blowing at times in gusting winds, made for slick roads but RCMP said there were few reported collisions. To be safe, though, the Trans-Canada Highway has been closed from Falcon Lake to the Ontario border.

A total of 5-10 centimetres of snow was expected to fall through the day.

Heavier amounts, around 10-20 cm, were expected in the west, where snowfall warnings were in place for areas around Riding Mountain and Duck Mountain, including Dauphin, Roblin, Russell, Minnedosa, Gilbert Plains, Ste. Rose, McCreary, Gladstone, and Swan River.

Those warnings were all lifted by Thursday afternoon, but driving conditions remained treacherous in some parts of the province.

In Onanole, Man., near Riding Mountain National Park, streets and highways were coated in ice. 

"I stepped on [the gas pedal] a little too much and it swung me straight around on the road," said Alvin Bone, who nearly hit the ditch with his car along Highway 10. "Almost went 360 [degrees]." 

Southern Manitoba hit by fresh snow, slick roads and crisp temperatures

7 years ago

Duration 1:38

Southern Manitoba is getting a little taste of winter but it's not expected to last. An Alberta clipper arrived late Wednesday evening in the west, first bringing rain and then snow. It also brought a flurry of weather alerts, many of which were lifted by early Thursday afternoon, and power outages.

However, he and others took the weather in stride.

"I knew it was coming," he said. "It's Manitoba, I knew we were going to get it."

"We're in Manitoba, c'mon," said Jan Moody, chuckling. "Of course it's here to stay." 

Moody travelled from Miami, Man., Thursday morning and was headed to Riding Mountain National Park, then Dauphin. The weather was a far cry from the conditions just a week ago.

"It's a shock for us. We've had such lovely weather," she said. "A week ago, I was golfing."

Winnipeg and the northern part of the Red River Valley escaped the brunt of the storm. Just a few centimetres of snow were expected to fall, according to Environment Canada.

However, a gusty north wind of up to 80 km/h kept temperatures well below the normal daytime high of 6 C for this time of year. Winnipeg was sitting around zero at 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Normal temperatures should return by the weekend but the snow is forecasted to be back on Monday.