Ahead of what could be a wintry start to Spring Break, Environment Canada has issued a Special Weather Statement for a significant portion of Western and Central Manitoba including the Carman, Portage, Brandon, Souris and Virden areas. Generally speaking, areas south of Highway 23 are currently not part of the statement.
A moisture packed Alberta clipper will bring rapidly accumulating snow to parts of the province starting Thursday and continuing through Friday night before tapering off before Saturday morning. 10-20 cm of fresh snow is expected by Friday evening in the Statement areas, with the higher end totals likely over the higher terrain of western Manitoba including the Riding Mountain and Duck Mountain areas.
For the latest forecast details, click here.
Some snow, and possibly freezing rain, is likely for areas south of Highway 23 including Altona, Winkler, Morden, Pilot Mound, Killarney, Boissevain and Melita. Totals are expected to be less than further north and west, but accumulating snowfall of 5cms, or a little more, is possible.
Travel conditions will be impacted by the system starting Thursday night, with breezy easterly and northerly winds potentially leading to blowing snow and reduced visibility throughout Friday.
For the latest Road Report and Cancellation information, click here.
The track of this storm is still being fine tuned, so it's possible additional areas may be added to the Special Weather Statement.