As of early Saturday morning, the low pressure system which began impacting the region yesterday continues to produce very strong wind gusts, leading to reduced visibility across the area this morning.
Because of the wind and snow, a large stretch of Highway #1 along with other highways closed in the province last night around 8 p.m. Numerous incidents were reported through the evening with vehicles sliding off the road because of the conditions. Everything has reopened this morning although all highways are still quite slippery and poor visibility is being reported in many areas.
According to Manitoba Transportation all highways throughout the Central Plains, Pembina and Red River Valleys remain snow packed and/or ice covered with fair to poor visibility in blowing and drifting snow.
Find your latest Road Report information and Cancellations, here.
"It will be difficult to say, for sure, how much snow we received due to the initial melting Friday followed by the gusty winds blowing a lot of it around into drifts," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "With that said, it does appear, in sheltered areas, our region landed in that 5 to 10 cm range, more than likely closer to 10cm, with some of it melting and drifting."
Cloudy conditions are forecast for Saturday, with gusty northwesterly winds of up to 60 km/h expected for the first part of the day but things should calm down quite a bit this afternoon and clear out tonight. By the middle of next week, temperatures may already be back on the plus side during the day.
The following wind gust readings are courtesy Environment Canada, and are through 8 a.m. December 9th
Portage la Prairie - gust to 72km/h around 11:00 p.m.
Pilot Mound – gust to 66km/h
Brandon/Melita – gust to 64km/h
Carman – gust to 61 km/h
Winnipeg (airport) – gust to 60km/h
Steinbach – gust to 59 km/h
Morden – gust 57 km/h
"As the low pulls eastward, the wind will subside this evening as high pressure builds in behind it," he added. "A trough is developing over the Prairies, meaning the Jet Stream will be well to our south, allowing for much cooler air than we've had recently to descend into the region, following the passage of today's cold front. That will mean a return to seasonal temperatures for the next few days, meaning daytime highs in the -6 to -8 range."
The average high for this point in December is -9, with the overnight low -18.
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"There are signs we could see temperatures push back toward 0 to +2 mid-week as upper level ridging returns to the region, and a warmer airmass moves in," Sumner added. "What does that mean for the snow we've received, and the possibility of a white Christmas? Certainly some would melt, but more than likely not all of it. At this point, it appears a white-ish Christmas is possible, but that will hinge on just how many more days of melting temperatures and sunny conditions we see before December 25th."
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