Southern Manitoba continued to get hammered with precipitation Thursday, with much of the area west of Winnipeg under a winter storm warning, while the east was under a rainfall warning.
The city itself is under a winter storm watch, with a mixture of wet snow or rain expected throughout the day. Environment Canada is calling for 5-10 cm of snow and temperatures steady around the freezing mark.
The wind will also be a factor, with gusts up to 70 km/h.
Environment Canada said the storm could impact power lines, something Manitoba Hydro has already been experiencing.
Hydro was dealing with a number of weather-related power outages across the province on Thursday morning.
As of Thursday morning, thousands of Hydro customers in locations across the province were dealing with outages, with multiple neighbourhoods in Winnipeg alone waiting for their service to be repaired.
Traffic has also been impacted by the stormy weather, with slushy and wet roads as the falling snow melts.
There have been a number of reports of collisions and other delays throughout the city.
In a tweet Thursday afternoon Manitoba RCMP said they were responding to crashes across southern Manitoba.
Manitoba Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre said it was monitoring the storm and how the rain-snow mix would influence river flows already saturated with an influx of water from record rains in September.
It said the Red River Floodway, which was opened Wednesday, continues to operate in an effort to lower river levels in Winnipeg.
A high water advisory continues for all areas along the Whiteshell Lakes and the south and southeast and the province and a high wind effect warning continues for the south basin of Lake Manitoba and shorelines near Gimli on the west and Victoria Beach on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.
The province said areas of south Dauphin Lake and Winnipegosis may also be impacted.
Lake Manitoba is currently at 811.32 feet above sea level (FSL) and Lake Winnipeg is currently at 713.58 FSL.
The province warned wind speed and wave action could raise water levels by as much as five feet or more.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is warning the winter weather may affect community health services in the city — particularly home care — over the next few days.
The WRHA says clients whose visits are postponed or cancelled will be notified by phone.
Clients looking to cancel or postpone health care visits should contact their case coordinator or nurse, or the after-hours service line at 204-788-8331.
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