Wind gusts reach 90 km/h in southern Manitoba; blowing snow closes some highways

Mother Nature decided to throw in (hopefully) one last gasp of winter Tuesday with a wicked wind and snow storm overnight.

Several highways are closed and many have warnings due to ice and blowing snow.

Closed highways Tuesday morning included:

• Hwy 5 near Dauphin to the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border
• Hwy 10, from Riding Mountain National Park to Cowan
• Hwy 20, from Fork River to Pine Creek, remains closed due to poor winter driving conditions
• Hwy 269, from Hwy 364 to Hwy 276,
• Hwy 272, from Pine Creek to Duck Bay
• Hwy 278, from Shergrove to Silver Ridge
• Hwy 364, from Hwy269 to Winnipegosis
• Hwy 276, from Hwy 269 to Skownan
• Hwy 480, from MB Hwy5 to Laurier

Most major highways in Southern Manitoba are reported ice covered with low visibility. Check the conditions map or dial 511 before heading out.

There were no school cancellations due to spring break; however, Stonewall Children’s Centre was closed. Any other cancellations can be emailed to winnipeg@globalnews.ca.

Due to the Manitoba Hydro strike, the Manitoba Hydro Outages Map is not being updated. However, there were reports of power out in the city, including in Elmwood on Tuesday morning.

Vaccines

Those scheduled to receive a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday are advised by the province to do so only if it is safe to get to the pop-up site or a supercentre.

“A spring storm is expected to result in poor driving conditions in many parts of the province today,” the province said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Manitobans are encouraged to stay safe and assess their travel plans based on local road and weather conditions.

“Individuals who have a vaccine appointment today and need to reschedule due to weather can do so online at https://protectmb.ca or by calling the provincial call centre at 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC).”

Weather statement

Environment and Climate Change Canada said the weather would slowly calm down over the day.

“Strong northwest winds are expected early this morning in the wake of a passing trough of low pressure,” they said.

“Winds gusting to 80 km/h will develop late overnight into early Tuesday morning with gusts to 90 km/h expected along a corridor stretching from lake Manitoba to Winnipeg. Snow and blowing snow will accompany the strong winds producing poor visibilities in blowing snow.”

The winds will slow later Tuesday, they said, but wind gusts up to 70 km/h will remain for much of southeastern Manitoba before diminishing tonight.

A wind warning for the City of Winnipeg ended at about 7:20 a.m.