The snow is starting to let up in southern Manitoba, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Manitoba Hydro says it’s continuing efforts to restore power after heavy, wet snow and strong wind has resulted in downed lines and snapped poles — and left thousands of Manitobans in the dark.
“Throughout the province, we’ve got approximately 6,400 people without power right now,” Hydro’s Bruce Owen told 680 CJOB Friday morning.
“Some, particulartly in the Interlake and Selkirk regions, have been without power since yesterday.
“The heavy, wet snow, of course, has clung to a lot of wires, power lines in the rural areas, and with that weight, it’s either dropped lines down or it’s snapped poles.”
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Owen said crews are working as fast as they can to get power to those in need, but some parts of the province have been tough to reach due to closed highways.
The road closures caused by the stormy weather continue to wreak havoc on Manitobans’ commutes, and it may not be over yet — Environment Canada meteorologist Eric Dykes says there are a couple of more centimetres of snow in the forecast for Friday morning before the storm subsides.
“Over Winnipeg, for the most part, we’ve seen around nine to about 14 or 15 centimetres, all told, as of last night with the storm,” he said.
“We’ve seen a couple centimetres — probably at least — through the overnight period as well that would up those totals.
“It should be rather benign tonight, but then we get into the snow again tomorrow. It’s a quick-moving clipper system from Alberta that will move across the southern portion of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.”
Dykes said Swan River has seen the most white stuff so far, with 30 centimetres.
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