Yes, it’s April, but Manitoba isn’t done with winter weather yet.
Environment Canada has issued a winter storm watch for the Winnipeg area as southern Manitoba prepares for a Colorado low mid-week, meteorologist Shannon Moodie told 680 CJOB’s The Start.
That forecast brings with it a “significant” amount of snow.
“Right now we’re looking at about 15 to 25 centimetres of snow. Winnipeg would be more into the 15 cm range and southeastern Manitoba would be more into the 25 cm range,” she said.
“Obviously, that’s not going to drop all at once. … In Winnipeg, we’re looking at that to start Tuesday evening.”
Moodie said strong north winds will accompany the snow and blow it around, causing less-than-ideal driving conditions.
“We are getting those winds through the duration of the snow,” Moodie said, “so it’s going to be really unpleasant.
“The snow that we’re looking at is the perfect type of snow that blows really well, so it’s definitely looking like it’ll be nasty.
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“I certainly wish I had better news, but it does look like Winnipeg will get hit with snow and strong winds with this system.”
The storm, however, will likely be gone as quickly as it came. The forecast for later in the week is calling for a much more spring-like high of 9 C on both Saturday and Sunday.
Manitoba isn’t the only area in the region facing an unwanted spring storm. Just across the Canada/U.S. border, the state of North Dakota will likely have it even worse, with blizzard conditions expected Tuesday night into Wednesday.
“We’re close to setting records for 12 inches or more snow depth for the length of time we’ve had this winter season, both in Grand Forks and Fargo,” U.S. meteorologist Mindy Beerends told The Start.
“There’s both deep snow back and a heavy snowfall on top of that.”
Beerends said the conditions could affect Canadians looking at cross-border travel over the upcoming long weekend, as it’s quite possible roads could be closed due to drifting snow.
Another impact North Dakota snowfall can have on Manitobans is spring flooding.
Beerends said the March 23 flood forecast remains valid, for the most part, but increased snow could make things worse.
“Some of the areas we were reaching moderate to major stages across the rivers and now the majority of the main stem Red (River) could probably reach the major stages, if not pushing well into major stage at some locations.”
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