Extreme cold warnings issued in western Manitoba, east of Lake Winnipeg

Extreme cold warnings have been issued for parts of southern Manitoba, primarily in the west of the province and east of Lake Winnipeg.

Between 10 and 20 centimetres of snow fell Tuesday in several parts of the southern half of Manitoba, and gale-force winds made for poor highway visibility.

Some areas remain under warnings Wednesday, includingeast of Lake Winnipeg.

Overnight temperatures around 35 C and northwest winds have combined for wind chill values in the 40range over the north basin of Lake Winnipeg, Environment Canada says.Conditions are forecast to improve during the day before getting colder again in the evening. More warnings are anticipated in the area by the end of the week.

Wind gusting from the north and more snowfall led to extreme cold warnings also being issued in western and southwestern Manitoba.

Overnight lows around20 Candwinds up to 30 kilometres per hourcould combine for a wind chill of around40. Extreme wind chill was expected to improve through the day before returning at night.

Warm air on Thursday could bring an end to the warnings in Westman,Environment Canada said.

The extreme cold warnings are for:

• Berens River, Bloodvein, Little Grand Rapids andAtikaki Provincial Park.
• Dauphin, Russell, Roblin andWinnipegosis.
• Melita, Boissevain and Turtle Mountain Provincial Park.
• Minnedosa andRiding Mountain National Park.
• Poplar River.
• Swan River, Duck Mountain andPorcupine Provincial Forest.
• Virden andSouris.