Heavy snowfall sees closure of Manitoba highways

Heavy snowfall over parts of the province are causing treacherous driving conditions and led to the closure of a number of Manitoba highways on Sunday night.

All of southern Manitoba including Winnipeg and Brandon and parts of central Manitoba have been under winter storm and snowfall warnings since Saturday.

CBC meteorologist John Sauder says 15 to 25 cm of snow could fall in the Winnipeg area and Red River Valley from Sunday night through Monday night and the Brandon and the Westman region could see as much as 30 cm of snow.

The following highways are closed:

• Highway 21 from Shoal Lake to Oakburn.
• Highway 45 from Oakburn to Elphinstone.
• Highway 264 from Highway 83 to Highway 16.
• Highway 23 from 342 to Deerwood.
• Highway 16 from the Saskatchewan border to Newdale.
• Highway 3 from Thornhill to Clearwater.
• Highway 34 from Highway 245 to the U.S. border.
• Highway 31 from Highway 3 to the U.S. border.
• Highway 244 from Manitou to Notre Dame.
• Highway 245 from Carmanto Highway 245.
• Highway 242 from the U.S. border to Somerset.

As well as all the snow, Sauder says some areas will also see winds gusting as high as 60 to 70 km/h, which could create poor visibility on roads and highways when combined with the snow.

Sauder said the easterly wind could also enhance snowfall in higher terrain, like Riding Mountain, and said localized amounts of 40 or 50 cm possible with the storm.

The stormy weather should start to taper off on Monday evening, says Sauder.

For up to date highway information during the storm go to the Manitoba road and traveller information website.