Winter returns as Winnipeg walloped by spring snowstorm – Winnipeg

Manitoba experienced a brief taste of spring, but residents in the central and southern parts of the province awoke to winter making a comeback as a storm moved through the region.

In the morning, estimates from Environment and Climate Change Canada indicated that Winnipeg received between five to 30 centimetres of snow, depending on the area of the city.

Lead forecaster Brad Vrolijk mentioned an interesting aspect of the storm, stating that different parts of Winnipeg experienced varying amounts of snowfall.

“It looks like areas like North Kildonan, East St. Paul, and the northern parts of the city have already received 20-30 centimetres of snow with this system,” Vrolijk told 680 CJOB’s The Start.

“On the southern half of the city, the snowfall is considerably less — as low as 5 centimetres on the very southern side. So, depending on your location this morning, you will have a different amount of snow to clear.”

Vrolijk mentioned that more snow was expected in Winnipeg on Friday, but the worst of the storm had passed.

Michael Cantor, Winnipeg’s manager of streets maintenance, explained that city plows and other clearing equipment were not deployed Thursday night due to the uncertainty of the storm’s severity.

“We usually assess the situation before deploying our equipment. Regional streets are salted first in these temperatures, and plowing follows after three centimetres of snow. We had to wait and make decisions based on the overnight accumulation,” Cantor stated.

Tim Muys of Green Blade Lawn Care acknowledged that the city made a prudent decision by not overreacting to the storm, as it could have resulted in unnecessary costs if the storm had not been as severe as anticipated.

Overall, more than 100 pieces of snow-clearing equipment were expected to be in operation on Friday to clear the snow-covered streets.

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