Highways closed across wide swath of southern Manitoba as winter storm rolls in
Several stretches of highway were closed Wednesday night, thanks to a winter storm that was expected to bring a heavy dump of snow and strong winds to southern Manitoba.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued an orange blizzard warning for a large swath of the Prairies, including portions of southern Manitoba, the Yellowhead and Trans-Canada highway corridors.
Brandon, Winnipeg, Dauphin and Portage la Prairie are among the urban areas under the warning.
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Several highways in western Manitoba, from up north in the Swan River area to the Trans-Canada in the south, were closed by 8:40 p.m., including the Yellowhead, Highway 5 and Highway 10.
As of 11:07 p.m., the closures had spread to the Interlake region, with stretches of highways 7, 8 9, 17 and 68 affected.
Northbound lanes along the Perimeter Highway, at Gunn Road, were also shuttered just before 9:30 p.m. due to a collision, the province said in a Wednesday news release. The highway reopened later in the evening.
A heavy dump of snow — about 10-20 centimetres — was forecast to fall across the region, "but there are areas that are definitely going to get more," said Natalie Hasell, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
"But with the winds going to 70-90 km/h it will be hard to measure that snow. You'll have areas that are swept dry and other areas that are massive drifts. So I don't know if we'll actually know how much snow has fallen."
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A strong Alberta clipper is to blame for the system, Environment Canada says on its weather alerts website .
The weather system was expected to roll into the Manitoba parklands area in the afternoon, and then hit Manitoba's Interlake and Red River Valley in the evening.
The clipper brought freezing rain in parts of southern and western Manitoba on Wednesday.
"Winnipeg's got a little bit of time before things really start. We’ve got, actually, really pleasant weather for the next few hours, and then everything changes,” Hasell said Wednesday morning.
"By sometime this evening, we should see very much reduced visibility in snow and blowing snow."
Snow crews ready
Winnipeg city crews applied salt on regional streets to melt the freezing rain that started falling in the afternoon, Michael Cantor, manager of street maintenance, told CBC News.
He said drivers should still brace for icy road conditions and they are encouraged to slow down below the speed limit.
With snow in the forecast, workers are on standby to begin plowing in the evening.
A lone figure crosses snowy Provencher Boulevard in St. Boniface late Wednesday night. (Rudi Pawlychyn/CBC)
"The whole city is covered with crews," Cantor said. "It was supposed to be a bigger event than what we are actually expecting, but we will see what we get tonight."
The city's snow-clearing budget has increased over the last year to best match the cost of answering to winter weather events like Wednesday's, Mayor Scott Gillingham told reporters at an unrelated news conference.
"We are a winter city and our staff is prepared for a blizzard," he said.
Possible health service disruptions
The Southern Health region has issued a caution, saying some health services could also be impacted by the storm.
Limited road access could cause delays or cancellations of appointments or other scheduled events, the regional health authority said in a news release.
Power outages may also affect phone and online services, which could prevent the authority from notifying patients about cancellations.
"Call ahead. Before leaving your home, please call your health-care provider's office to confirm your appointment," the release says.
Brandon University student Julia Friesen scrapes away the remnants of freezing rain in Brandon on Wednesday. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)
Home care clients are encouraged to have backup plans ready with family members and friends in case visits by the agency's caregivers aren't possible.
Midwifery clients who are planning a home birth should consider staying somewhere with access to a hospital as a backup plan.
Travel information and road conditions are available on the Manitoba government website.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is also advising residents that community services, in particular home care, might be affected on Wednesday night and Thursday due to the weather.
Efforts will be made to keep existing schedules, but delays or cancellations are possible for some clients, the health authority said in a statement.
Home care clients are also being encouraged to consider back-up or storm plans, if possible.
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The system is expected to end on Thursday, with the northern edge easing first, followed by the south, Environment Canada said.
Meanwhile bitter Arctic air is bringing extreme cold to Manitoba's north. Environment Canada's cold warning says wind chill values will approach –50.
Those conditions are anticipated to last until Thursday morning.
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This article, written by Santiago Arias Orozco, was originally published for CBC News. With files from Darren Bernhardt and Faith Fundal