Blizzard is over, but bitter cold returns and some cancellations continue

"By no means is this a technical weather term, but I said it Tuesday a few times and it seems pretty fitting... that was a doozy of a blizzard!" That's how CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner described the severe winter weather conditions that hammered much of Southern Manitoba yesterday with very strong winds leading to poor visibility and white conditions across the region.

One of the most intense blizzards the area has seen in quite some time led to multiple highway closures Tuesday including the TransCanada from the Saskatchewan border to Hadashville, and Highway 75 from the U.S. border to Winnipeg. In both cases, significant stretches of the roads were closed for hours at a time. The Perimeter around Winnipeg was also closed for a length period of time, with RCMP reporting late Tuesday evening more than 100+ vehicles stuck at various points along the stretch around the provincial capital. The Perimeter has now reopened.

"Visibility has improved significantly compared to Tuesday, but for areas that saw between 3 to 5 hours of freezing rain prior to the snowfall, that Morden, Winkler, Carman, Altona and Morris region, driving conditions are still very challenging with roadways completely ice covered," noted Sumner. "And for those living outside urban centre, rural roads throughout the region may have significant drifts that need to be ploughed, so be alert as you head out this morning."

Because of the clean up necessary in some rural areas, some cancellations have been extended for a second day. You can find the current list, and latest road report information, by clicking here.

The vicious winds that lashed the province clocked in quite high according to data from Environment Canada and the Manitoba Ag Weather Network:

Dominion City – 87 km/h
Brunkild – 85 km/h
Clearwater/Windygates – 80 km/h
Emerson/Cartwright – 75 km/h
Elm Creek – 74 km/h
Altona/Morris – 73 km/h
Pilot Mound – 70 km/h
Manitou – 69 km/h
St. Pierre – 68 km/h
Gretna – 66 km/h
Carman – 63 km/h
Morden – 57 km/h
Winkler – 54 km/h

And with the blizzard in the rearview mirror, a ridge of high pressure has built in and that has brought a return of bitterly cold Arctic air. Extreme Cold Warnings are in effect, as windchill values will hover around -40 Tuesday morning, with some moderation throughout the day. Daytime highs today through Friday will be well below average as that very cold air-mass settles in, ranging between -20 and -22.

"It's looking like Wednesday and Thursday night will be particularly cold, with overnight lows diving into the -30 to -35 range," noted Sumner. "We're also expecting southerly winds to pick up Thursday afternoon ahead of the arrival of yet another weak disturbance that evening which may bring a few centimeters of snow, but perhaps more importantly, will bring another round of gusty conditions. Not as windy as Tuesday, but windy enough, hitting that 40 to 60 km/h range potentially."

And Sumner added, there's even more more snow and more wind on the way to wrap up the week.

"The forecast models are showing another Alberta Clipper moving through the region Friday night into Saturday which could drop between 5 and 10cms of snow along with windy conditions," he said. "Again, we're not expecting that system to be as intense as Tuesday's, but it could lead impacts travel conditions, so keep an eye on the forecast as the week moves along."