Blowing snow likely to impact visibility on Manitoba roads

Terri Gale has your Thursday morning look at the weather.

A low pressure system enveloping parts of the province is likely to cause poor visibility on Manitoba roadways in the coming days.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued a yellow blowing snow advisory early Thursday morning for a swath of southern Saskatchewan and northwest Manitoba, particularly in the Brochet region.

According to ECCC warning preparedness meteorologist Natalie Hasell, wind gusts in that region could reach up to 90 km/h Thursday afternoon and overnight into Friday.

“Stronger winds will make it to most of the north, especially in some areas downstream of the Manitoba lakes as winds look to be lining up pretty well with their axis,” she told CTV News.

Those gusts are likely to whip around falling snow throughout Thursday, potentially causing poor visibility.

While the advisory is only in effect for that corner of the province, much of southern Manitoba, including Winnipeg and Brandon, is forecast to receive blowing snow overnight Thursday and into Friday, as the low pressure system slumps south on its way to northwestern Ontario.

That could ramp up northwesterly winds through southern Manitoba overnight to 60 km/h, causing visibility issues in that neck of the woods, as well.

“It won’t be consistent or constant, but the snow will be falling and temperatures are getting cooler, reducing the stickiness of snow, so we can expect it will be picked up easier by those winds,” Hasell said.

She reminds motorists who get stranded in such conditions to move to the shoulder of the road and stay inside their vehicle, as temperatures are cool enough to cause frostbite and hypothermia.

“Just wait it out,” she said.

“It’s much easier to find a car than an individual.”