Shannon Dueck

The Reeve for the R.M. of Morris says southbound Highway 75, south of Ste. Agathe, is right now a dangerous section of roadway to be travelling on. And, it has nothing to do with spring flooding.

If you have driven down that stretch in recent weeks, you can probably relate to Ralph Groening's description. He says there are potholes on that highway, and now chunks of concrete debris from those potholes are scattered throughout. Groening says motorists need to be extra careful while driving that stretch.

An army of volunteers has been hard at work the last couple of weeks, assisting those impacted by flood waters in the St. Adolphe area.

Lesley Gaudry has been helping coordinate some of those efforts. Gaudry says over the last number of weeks they have been watching the Red River rise. For those who live within the dike, properties are protected and there is no threat of flooding. But, for residents living outside the town's ring dike, Gaudry says it has been a stressful time.

An overland flood watch has been issued for all of southern and central Manitoba.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure's Hydrologic Forecast Centre issued the statement as forecasters continue to monitor a series of precipitation systems starting today that could bring as much as 60 millimetres (mm) of rain to the region over the next five days. Rain amounts of more than 60 mm are possible in some localized areas.

Officials in Manitoba now say the rain that is expected this weekend in the southern portion of the province will likely not impact the flood situation. Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure's Hydrologic Forecast Centre says a precipitation system forecast to arrive on Saturday may bring five to 10 millimetres of rain.

Meteorologists in southern Manitoba say there is a chance we will be hit this week with the fourth Low from the United States in as many weeks.

The price of natural gas is about to go up for customers in Manitoba.

The Public Utilities Board (PUB) announced Wednesday morning that it has approved the application by Centra Gas Manitoba Inc to increase the current Primary Gas rate. The increase will take effect May 1st.

According to the PUB, the new rate is projected to increase the bill for a typical residential customer by approximately 20.5 per cent, or $150 per year. Primary Gas rates will be reviewed again in August.

The Red River continues to climb. Since Tuesday, the Red has risen at all locations between Grand Forks and St. Adolphe, including:

Provincial crews are deployed in a number of communities in the Red River Valley preparing for and implementing ring dike closures. Those preparations are underway in the Town of Morris.

"Better to be safe than sorry," said Mayor Scott Crick.

The overland flood warning for southern Manitoba has been extended until midday on Tuesday.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure is reporting that water levels on most tributaries in the Red River basin and along the Red River main stem are rising quickly in response to the weekend rainfall and will continue to rise over the coming days. Daily average temperatures around zero is slowing down the melting of the remaining snow. Daily average temperatures are expected to increase to above zero on Tuesday.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre has issued an overland flood warning for southern Manitoba from the Saskatchewan border eastward to Provincial Trunk Highway (PTH) 12 and from the United States border northwards to PTH 1. The warning could extend north of PTH 1 between PTH 5 and PTH 16, and north of PTH 1 between Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg.

These areas could receive more than 50 millimetres (mm) of precipitation of a mix of rain and snow, with some localized areas receiving up to 80 mm by midday Monday.