Near-whiteout conditions continue for Mantioba into Friday evening
Folks across Manitoba ended the week with steady snow and persistent winds as a low-pressure system made its way across the province.
The combination of winds and snowfall led to greatly reduced visibility at times across the region, a threat that’ll continue for the duration of the storm.
Expect dicey travel conditions to persist Friday evening before the storm moves on and the weather improves into Saturday.
Going somewhere? Check out the current highway conditions before heading out!
Brace for blizzard-like conditions Friday evening
The heaviest snow and gustiest winds will continue Friday evening over southern Manitoba, including the city of Winnipeg. Winds could gust between 40-60 km/h.
This combination means hazardous travel with blowing snow and blizzard-like conditions. Most major thoroughfares in southern Manitoba were at least partially covered by snow or ice by sunset Friday, with near-zero visibility in some areas.
WATCH: Avoid travel in Winnipeg as snow, wind reduce visibility
Visibility will be greatly reduced during Friday's evening commute along major highways, including the Trans-Canada in and out of northwestern Ontario. Expect travel delays and winter travel conditions. The dicey conditions may linger into Saturday for Ontarians before gradually improving through the day.
Snowfall totals will be the highest in southwestern Manitoba, Dauphin, and far northwestern Ontario, where snowfall warnings have been issued.
A widespread 10-20+ cm of snow may accumulate in these areas, with lower totals expected farther south near Winnipeg. Less than 5 cm of snow is on tap closer to the international border and east toward Thunder Bay.
Blowing snow will pose a hazard for all area roads. Plan extra time into your travels and use caution if you have to drive through the snow. It’s best to avoid travel if at all possible, especially as the winds pick up.
Thankfully for folks pining for calmer weather, this should be the last of the action for a while. After this system departs, we’ll see a break in major systems on the Prairies heading into next week.
Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across the eastern Prairies.
