Winter’s return forces school closures, poor road conditions

Winter has once again returned to Winnipeg causing multiple closures around the city, including schools and highways, while area residents pull out their winter gear and shovels.

Heavy snowfalls that began on Sunday caused some dangerous road conditions around Manitoba Monday morning, leading to more than 15 school divisions and several highways remaining closed due to poor driving conditions.

While Winnipeg saw far less snow compared to surrounding areas, it was enough snow for the plows to be out in full force, with Manager of Streets Maintenance Michael Cantor saying it has been challenging due to this winter’s swings in temperatures.

“It is a tricky winter with more freezing rain coming down in the forecast that aren’t materialized, and we need to be ready for any event that we don’t get snow we get freezing rain instead, and instead of plowing we are salting,” said Michale Cantor, the manager of streets maintenance.

Getting the snow off the roads isn’t the main issue, as Cantor says the swing in temperatures could give them problems in the future.

“We get more potholes we need to patch; we are probably going to have a busy spring since we had those swings of temperatures, we will have to see how it will affect our gravel roads which also could be problematic,” said Cantor.

Roads weren’t the only ones affected. Winnipeg airport’s Manager of Communications Michel Rosset says they experienced multiple cancelations and delays over the weekend.

“We know some of the other cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan saw more snow and heavy winds than we did here in Winnipeg, so a lot of those cancelations and delays stemmed from weather issues in other airports,” said Rosset.

Rosset says this year’s unique winter hasn’t been a problem for Winnipeg’s International Airport as they are prepared for the challenge.

“We have a team here at Winnipeg International Airport who is on staff 24 hours a day seven days a week in the winter months that address any speak of ice or snow that ends up on the runways the aprons or the taxiways, any of that pavement that’s on the airfield,” explained Rosset.

While other parts of Manitoba are still expecting to see more significant snowfall over the next few days, according to Environment Canada, Winnipeg will be heading towards more seasonal temperatures, with only light flurries in the forecast on Wednesday.