Rain, snow and windy conditions are all in the forecast today as the impacts from a Colorado low moving through the province are felt. Environment Canada has continued the Special Weather Statement for all of Southern Manitoba.
"Temperatures dropped enough in western Manitoba overnight that snow has started to fall there, with accumulations in the 5 to 7cm range so far," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "Further east, into the Red River Valley, temperatures have remained above freezing overnight, and light drizzle has been falling. We're expecting the snow/rain line to move eastward today as temperatures begin to drop behind the cold front sweeping through with this low. That changeover is expected to happen by early Thursday afternoon, with periods of snow through the remainder of the day, into Thursday evening, overnight and through at least Friday morning."
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According to Environment Canada, in southwestern Manitoba the snow will end by tonight with a further 4 to 8cm expected today.
"The Red River Valley and Southeastern Manitoba are still in line with what we were thinking at the start of the week, that being a few millimeters of rain and few centimeters of snow," Sumner noted. "Even though this is a moisture laden system, the actual precipitation totals in our area will be relatively light."
He pointed out, as temperatures drop this afternoon, there is a risk for freezing drizzle for a period of a couple of hours, before the rain completely switches over to snow. He also indicated the wind could be an issue today, too.
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"As the system passes through, on the backside of this low gusty northerly winds will pick up to 60 km/h by early afternoon," he said. "Those gusts will push even higher tonight, possibly up to 70 km/h. Because the winds are expected to line up with the timing of the snow, blowing snow and reduced visibility will more than likely be a factor late this afternoon and tonight, alongside highway icing as temperatures cool."
And how long before this all wraps up?
"We can expect light snow throughout much of Friday, with gusty northwesterly winds also for much of the day," Sumner said. "The snow will taper off west to east, and by late Friday afternoon or early evening it will have wrapped up across Southern Manitoba."
Looking ahead, behind this system, he noted northwesterly flow aloft develops, meaning relatively cooler air moving into the region.
"With that said, we’re still expecting temperatures to remain above average through the weekend and into the first half of next week," he added ."Highs will range between -4 and -8, with overnight lows between -10 and -15. Daytime highs right now should be around -8, with overnight lows of -18."