Wintry Sunday ahead: Manitoba braces for snow and ice, hazardous travel
Get ready to take it slow on Sunday as a clipper pushing into Manitoba brings a widespread risk for snow and ice
A clipper diving across the Prairies will tap into a plume of Pacific moisture to produce freezing rain and accumulating snow throughout much of southern Manitoba heading into Sunday.
Widespread snowfall warnings and freezing rain warnings are in place ahead of the clipper’s arrival. Hazardous driving is likely at times, especially in areas expecting ice accretion from freezing rain.
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Difficult travel expected Sunday and Monday as snow, ice arrive
We’re watching a low-pressure system trekking east across the Prairies this weekend.
Conditions will start to deteriorate in southern Manitoba early Sunday, where chilly temperatures will allow for heavy snow into the Interlake Region while readings closer to the zero-degree mark in southwestern Manitoba lead to a spell of freezing rain.
A wintry mix will develop across most of Winnipeg, including the risk for light snow and freezing rain as temperatures remain below freezing.
As the day progresses, we’ll see temperatures rise to near or just above freezing, changing the freezing rain over to rain from southwest to northeast. Northeast sections of Winnipeg will likely remain colder for longer.
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The greatest ice accretion is expected across communities such as Dauphin and Brandon, where cold air near the surface will stubbornly hang on. While the ice will make for dangerous travel, ice accretions shouldn’t reach the point of worrying about power outages.
Colder temperatures will hang on longer north of Winnipeg toward the Interlake Region, where we’ll see the potential for heavy snow to develop. Snowfall totals here could exceed 15-20 cm in spots.
A cold rain is expected to continue across downtown Winnipeg on Monday, eventually tapering off later in the evening as the system moves east. With temperatures hovering near freezing, though, we’ll still see the risk of occasional bouts of mixed precipitation.
If your travels take you outside and west of Winnipeg, the risk of freezing rain will follow the Yellowhead Highway. Once you head west on the Trans-Canada Highway, temperatures in Saskatchewan will remain mild enough for regular rain.
Looking ahead, temperatures will remain on the chillier side of seasonal heading into next week. This will bring near-freezing temperatures and a risk for additional rounds of wintry precipitation as early as Tuesday.
Stay with The Weather Network for the latest on conditions across Manitoba.