If you were surprised by the suddenly stormy weather on Tuesday evening, you’re not alone. Many Manitobans were startled, including the forecasters.
Environment Canada’s Brad Vrolijk told 680 CJOB’s The Start the weather was caused by two systems interacting, including a strong low passing through the United States.
“We were expecting a chance of some lighter snow, but the intensity of which it sprung up and how quickly it did was certainly unexpected,” he said.
Vrolijk said most areas in the Red River Valley received between two and four centimetres of snow.
“It was a bit of an unusual thing. It was a cold front that had pushed into the region that had done pretty much nothing, from Fort McMurray all the way through Saskatchewan, all the way through western Manitoba.
“And then right around suppertime yesterday, as it approached the Red River Valley, suddenly it sprung alive with a pretty decent amount of snow along it.”
The unexpected blast of strong wind, which Vrolijk said reached up to 80 km/h, and snow is behind us, although the cold is expected to stick around for a couple of days.