An icy, slippery and blustery Friday is in store as the impacts of the Colorado low which arrived yesterday continue to linger across Southern Manitoba. Northwesterly wind gusts up to 60 km/h are expected throughout today, alongside light snow, meaning blowing snow and reduced visibility will be a factor.
As of Friday morning, on your Sun Valley Tire Road Report, highways throughout the Pembina and Red River Valleys are partly ice or ice covered, with blowing and drifting snow.
For the latest Road Report and Cancellation information, click here.
"This Colorado low, at least for areas south of the Trans Canada highway, had more bark than bite," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "It was a moisture filled system, but that didn't translate into significant snowfall or rainfall totals in our region. A few centimeters of snow, and a couple millimeters of rain before the precipitation transitioned to snow, is the general trend."
Speaking of that rain, before it turned to snow Thursday, a few PembinaValleyOnline rainwatchers were reported to us. The following totals are for Thursday, February 8th and are courtesy the Manitoba Ag Weather Network:
St. Pierre 5.2mm
Morden - 5mm (2/10th)
Steinbach - 4.6mm
Dominion City - 4.1mm
Winkler - 4mm
Carman - 3.9mm
Emerson - 3.8mm
Gretna - 3.5mm
Morris - 2.7mm
Elm Creek - 2.5mm (1/10)
Jordan corner - 2.0mm
Altona - 1.7mm
25mm = 1 inch
For the latest forecast details, click here.
"The gusty conditions will last for much of the day, meaning blowing and drifting snow will be part of the morning and afternoon commute," noted Sumner. "As the system continues to move out of our region, a northwesterly flow is establishing aloft, meaning cooler air arriving, but I stress only relatively cooler than what we had. Daytime highs today through early next week will remain a few degrees above average for this time of February, ranging between -4 and -6. Surface high pressure will build in by Sunday, helping bring a return to sunshine which will be welcomed by many, I'm sure."
We're expecting a high of -6 today, which is still above average for this time of year, with the flurries tapering off by tonight, with winds also subsiding later today.