Vast stretches of Manitoba highways were reporting poor road conditions on Saturday as the province battled through massive snow falls and plunging temperatures.
The Trans-Canada Highway was open on Saturday but the province was warning drivers of snow covered sections, slippery ice patches and ground drifting.
Nearly every other highway in southern Manitoba were also reporting snow drifts and hazardous driving conditions, which may have played a role in a fatal collision Friday afternoon.
RCMP said two people were killed in a head-on collision on Highway 12, north of Winnipeg around 2:40 p.m.
The highway remains under a weather warning, but it is not clear whether conditions played a role in the crash.
The Winnipeg region received as much as 15 centimetres of snow during Friday and Saturday's storm, while sections of the province near Grand Rapids received as much as 21 centimetres.
Environment Canada said an Alberta clipper moving across central and southern Manitoba brought the intense band of snowfall through the region Saturday morning before pushing southeastward into Minnesota.
Cold air blasts are expected to continue through the weekend, dropping the temperature as low as -26 Celsius through on Sunday.
Windchill warnings were in effect through the northern half of the province.
City crews were plowing major streets in Winnipeg overnight and were expected to continue the cleanup through Saturday.
Slick road conditions were also a concern across Saskatchewan and Alberta. Calgary was expecting up to 25 centimetres of snowfall through Friday and Saturday, with temperatures dropping from recent spring-like temperatures.