Colorado Low edges closer, snowfall warnings still in effect

The Colorado Low that is barreling down on North Dakota is creeping closer towards southern Manitoba.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for much of southern Manitoba, all the way from Killarney to the Ontario border. 

Meteorologist Natalie Hasell says most of southeastern Manitoba, including Steinbach will see 10 to 20 centimetres of snow. The heaviest precipitation is expected in the extreme southeast where up to 25 centimetres could fall. For areas just to the north, including Winnipeg, there is currently no warning.

Not only will it be snowy, but Hasell says you can also expect a lot of wind today, with northerly winds gusting to 70 kilometres per hour. 

"So, snow at times heavy, blowing snow, really picking up this afternoon and continuing into tonight, slowly tapering off towards morning tomorrow," says Hasell. "It's going to be quite the taste of winter weather."

Hasell says the track of this Colorado Low has changed since earlier in the week. As you may recall, a few days ago, Environment Canada was calling for only flurries west of Steinbach. In fact, even as late as Wednesday, snowfall totals for Steinbach were not expected to exceed more than a few centimetres. 

"Compared to yesterday we have a slightly more northward track," she explains.

Should the system track even further north, Hasell says warnings may need to be extended to include places like Winnipeg, Dugald and the southern part of the Interlake.

Hasell says the threat of blizzard conditions later today is not entirely out of the question, though she is not sure whether the combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds will be significant enough to reduce visibility to the point that a blizzard warning is issued.

"If you do have to travel today and tonight, generally speaking, we expect things to be quite bad," she adds.

Meanwhile, parts of North Dakota were hit with freezing rain overnight, prompting the closure of I-29 between Grand Forks and Fargo. Hasell says that is typical for a Colorado Low to have a swath of freezing rain. However, she expects the freezing rain will all stay south of the border.