Manitoba hit by longest-lasting blizzard in quarter century
Posted February 2, 2022 6:33 pm.
Last Updated February 2, 2022 6:35 pm.
Manitobans got whipped with some serious snow Tuesday, after the longest-lasting blizzard in 25 years made its way across the province, prompting extended blizzard warnings and blowing snow advisories.
The blizzard shut down highways, stranded drivers, and had Environment Canada issuing extreme cold warnings for most of the province.
“We are in very cold conditions, at least for the next several days, and that’s pretty much almost everywhere in the province,” said Natalie Hasell of Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Winds gusting between 40-80 km per hour with snow reducing visibility from the blizzard lasted for more than nine hours at the Winnipeg airport according to Scott Kehler, chief scientist at Weatherlogics, making it the longest-lasting blizzard in Winnipeg since April 1997.
“One of this length is definitely longer than the norm but something we do see from time to time,” added Kehler.
Many Manitobans will remember the flood of the century that occurred in 1997 putting much of the province underwater. But Kehler says the statistics connecting this blizzard to the storm in ‘97 doesn’t mean it’s time to fill sandbags and head for higher ground just yet.
“The blizzard we just saw was totally different from the ’97 storm, this storm only produced about six cm of snow in Winnipeg. The ’97 blizzard produced more like two feet and it was very heavy wet snow, so from that point of view, totally different events.”
Kehler cautions Manitoba does have a deep snowpack right now and a rapid melt in the spring would be bad for the flood situation. In its recent flood outlook, the U.S. Weather Service says there is a medium risk of major flooding at Fargo and Pembina on the Red River.
Manitoba’s Hydrological Forecast Centre says it has been monitoring weather conditions, including the amount of precipitation received in all Manitoba basins since freeze-up. It will incorporate data from nearby jurisdictions into its flood forecasting models that will be issued in late February or March.
As much as shovelling off a driveway can be a pain, many farmers in Manitoba like Ian Robson are happy to see more moisture arrive in the form of snow.
“The soil moisture in a lot of areas is still really, really dry,” said Robson.
“There were many, many areas of Manitoba that didn’t get a good rain last year or any snowfall last year and were dry and are still dry. The snow that we are getting now is good, of course, any amount of moisture is good.”
What remains to be seen is how much more snow could fall before the spring melt, and if the ground will be frozen when melting occurs.
“If it melts over a gradual period of time it will easily seep into the soil,” said Kehler. “If it all came down at once and we had frozen ground, it would be bad for flooding.”
