Gates closed Highway 75 from Winnipeg to the U.S. border early Monday. (CHRISD.CA)
WINNIPEG — Southern Manitoba awoke Monday to a blast of winter, closing schools, cancelling buses and making the morning commute a headache for motorists.
The city received about 25 centimetres of snow overnight, which began falling at around 10 p.m. Sunday. Southwestern Manitoba could be in store for up to 40 centimetres by the time the Colorado low system moves out of the province.
The wintry weather has closed dozens of highways across the province, most notably Highway 75 from Winnipeg to the U.S. border and Highway 1 from Headingley to Portage la Prairie. A complete list of highway closures can be found on the Manitoba Roads Twitter account or on Manitoba511.ca.
The City of Winnipeg says spreaders salted roadways overnight, and plows were deployed at midnight to clear main routes. Sidewalk plows worked overnight in the downtown area and will continue on the main routes throughout the day.
The city says more than 200 pieces of equipment have been deployed and crews will be moving to tackle bus route/collector routes. Residential streets and back lanes will be assessed for clearance as well.
The declared snow route parking ban remains in effect until Wednesday, March 7 at 7 a.m.
Winnipeg Transit is experiencing delays and users are asked to allow for extra travel time. The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is also currently experiencing longer response times due to the adverse weather conditions.
Updated at 12:04 p.m.
