The Colorado low brings a blast of winter to southern Manitoba

WINNIPEG – The mild winter Manitoba has been through could come to an end on Thursday.

Mother Nature is moving from southern Colorado to southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan, bringing soaring temperatures and a mix of rain and snow.

Periods of snow will begin tonight in southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba through the Interlake and end Thursday evening.

“A line of heavy rain and snow is expected to develop east of the Red River Valley toward the Ontario border,” the special weather statement said. “However, there is uncertainty about the exact location of this border.”

Environment Canada is forecasting 10 to 15 cm of snow in 24 hours, with the exception of up to 25 cm near the Riding Mountain area.

The system will begin with rain in the Red River Valley and southeastern Manitoba before changing to snow eastward Thursday afternoon. The snow will continue until Friday morning.

“Roads and sidewalks will be slippery as the rain changes to snow and the recent drop in temperatures,” the report said. “There will also be a risk of freezing rain near this rain-snow line.”

Cooler temperatures will linger through this weekend into next week, but will still be above seasonal averages.

The last snowstorm in Manitoba was on January 10-11, when about 15 cm of snow fell in Winnipeg.