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Highways closed due to blowing snow; Winnipeg salting bridges and underpasses

Southeastern Manitoba under snowfall warning thanks to Colorado low

Another blast of winter has hit southern Manitoba.

Several highways in the Interlake were closed Monday evening due to poor winter driving conditions, followed by the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway between Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, Man.

CBC meterologist John Sauder was calling for a mix of snow or showers, even freezing rain south of Winnipeg, as it became cloudy, messy and very windy this afternoon. Blowing snow is forecast to continue through the evening and overnight with a low of -12 C.

At 7 p.m. Monday, winds at Winnipeg's airport were recorded at 58 km/h gusting to 75 km/h.

Environment Canada has issued snowfall warnings for the Interlake areas of Grand Rapids, Waterhen, Easterville. Snowfall warnings have also been issued for areas east of Lake Winnipeg, including Berens River, Bloodvein, Poplar River, and Little Grand Rapids.

Winds up to 60 km/h combined with moderate to heavy snow will make driving conditions treacherous. Conditions are expected to improve gradually overnight and into Tuesday, Environment Canada said.

Parts of northern Manitoba, including Churchill and York, are under blizzard warnings. Blizzard conditions are expected to develop Tuesday morning, with winds between 60 and 90 km/h. The strong winds combined with falling snow will reduce visibility to near zero.

The storm is expected to end Tuesday.

City crews started preparing for the weather change on Sunday, spokesperson Lisa Fraser said in an email, conducting anti-icing operations on bridges and underpasses city-wide.

The last time the weather was like this, last month, the city recorded 97 car crashes, many on slippery bridges.

On Monday afternoon, city crews headed out to salt bridges, underpasses and main routes as well.

Highway closures:

- Highway 1, from Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie

- Highway 6, from Highway 101 to Highway 248

- Highway 67, from Highway 6 to Highway 7

- Highway 236, from Highway 101 to Highway 67

- Highway 7, from Highway 101 to Highway 68

- Highway 700, from Bloodvein to Pauingassi

- Highway 415 and 416, from 16 km east of Jct Highway 6 to 31.5 km west of Jct Highway 7