Snow is here: what to expect today

Winnipeg is getting off easy compared to some areas, but will still get its fair share of winter today.

An Alberta Clipper storm system has been pushing through the prairies over the last 36 hours. 10 mm of rain fell overnight in Winnipeg last night. Then around 5:00 a.m. the rain turned to snow.

David Baggaley from Environment Canada says there's more than just snow headed our way. "We're looking at a little bit of a snow day here. Maybe 2 to 4 cm. One of the issues, though, is there could be a fairly brisk wind today. We're looking at winds to pick up to 50 km/h with gusts up to 70 km/h today."

CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner says that south of the Trans Canada Highway will see a bit more snow later this morning. "Total accumulations for most areas south of the Trans Canada are probably going to be in the 5 to 10 cm range. That southeastern corner of the province could see 10 to 20 cm."

Areas of western Manitoba have already received large amounts of snow. Baggaley says that the Parkland may have received as much as 10 to 15 cm overnight in the higher elevation areas.

That wind and snow could make for some tricky travel conditions Sumner says. "The big message I want to send out to everyone today is simply slow down. Once that snow starts to fall let's keep in mind that for a lot of us it's been seven to eight months since we've driven in anything remotely close to winter driving conditions."

The good news is, as is the case with most Alberta Clippers, the system will move out just as quickly as it came. Sumner says, "tomorrow we should see a lot of sunshine, but cooler than average temperatures. Probably daytime highs for Friday in the plus one to plus two range . . . it won't be until sometime next week that we may see temperatures recover to seasonal averages in that six to eight-degree range."

While we knew it would come eventually, it's a bit of a far cry from the record-setting heat we had just one week ago.