PembinaValleyOnline News

Saturday was a very windy day across the Pembina and Red River Valleys, and several locations recorded peak wind gusts over 70km/h with sustained winds of 60km/h for a period of several hours.

Environment Canada has issued a Wind Warning Saturday morning for the Pembina and Red River Valleys, including the Morden, Winkler, Altona, Emerson, Morris, Steinbach and Vita regions.

Strong northwesterly gusts up to 90 km/h are expected Saturday morning over these areas.

According to data from the Manitoba Ag Weather Network, a gust of 81km/h was recorded early Saturday morning at Altona; 75km/h at Dominion City; 72km/h at Kane; 71km/h at Gretna and 70km/h at Elm Creek.

Find the latest forecast, here.

It appears the Pembina and Red River Valleys, along with Southeastern Manitoba, will be outside the most impactful conditions from a Colorado low that will track through the Dakotas and Minnesota Friday and Saturday.

Just over a week removed from wind gusts between 90 and 100km/h across parts of Southern Manitoba, the region is again poised to see very strong gusts Monday.

February went out like a lion, at least during the morning hours of Friday and from a wind gusts perspective.

"As a potent Alberta clipper moved southeastward through central Manitoba, diving into the United States, very strong northwesterly wind gusts developed around the system," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "The pressure gradient around the low, or the difference in air pressure around it and the surrounding airmass, was quite significant. When that happens, very strong wind gusts are likely to happen, and that's what we saw yesterday."

It's a slightly modified take on the traditional weather folklore saying, but it appears February will go out like a lion and March will come in like a lamb. Very strong wind gusts are in the forecast for the early morning hours through early afternoon on Friday. Environment Canada has indicated northwesterly gusts up to 80km/h are possible.

Updated Sunday, February 2nd at 11:04am - Environment Canada has ended the Blowing Snow Advisory for all of Southern Manitoba. With that said, gusty westerly winds up to 60km/h and blowing snow are still expected throughout the Sunday, but visibility is expected to remain better than the threshold required to trigger the advisory.

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Sources close to Peavey Mart have said it will be closing all its stores across Canada, including their location in Winkler.

The decision is part of a nationwide shutdown that will see nearly two dozen stores close by the end of February. There is no specific timeline announced for all stores.

The retailer, which has been known for offering agricultural supplies, hardware, and home improvement products, has stated in a press release, that changing market conditions and declining profits are behind the closures.

Updated Saturday, January 25th at 11:59am - Late Saturday morning, Environment Canada ended the Blowing Snow Advisory in effect for the region. With that said, blustery conditions are expected for the early afternoon, with northwesterly gusts between 30 and 50km/h, before winds become light later today.

Temperatures will remain steady around -12 degrees.

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Updated Thursday, December 19th - the Snowfall Warning has ended for the Pembina and Red River Valleys. 

You can read our original story, below.

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The flurries continue to fall this morning as a Snowfall Warning has now been extended to include the Morden, Winkler, Altona, Morris, Emerson and Vita regions in addition to the Manitou and Pilot Mound areas. According to Environment Canada, total accumulations across the warning area will be near 10cms, or slightly more, before the snow ends early this afternoon.