Hope for the best, plan for the worst: Manitoba readies itself for coming blizzard
With a blizzard looming in southern Manitoba, emergency preparedness officials say the province is ready to deal with the storm.
Environment Canada has been warning a major storm set to hit parts of Southern Manitoba Tuesday evening has the potential to be the worst blizzard in decades.
READ MORE: Major blizzard coming to Manitoba that could be the worst in decades: Environment Canada
Environment and Climate Change Canada is asking people to get ready for a snowy and windy week.
“I know people living in Winnipeg are resilient and tough and used to poor weather, but this is a system that we don’t often see,” Meteorologist Sara Hoffman said in an interview with CTV News. “We call it a one in 30-year event”
Hoffman says this week's snowstorm brings April on track to see similar snowfall levels to 1997.
The weather agency has warned travel will become increasingly difficult throughout the day on Wednesday, and is advising people not to travel and expect power outages.
Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Bruce Owen said power outages are possible during the blizzard but he doesn’t know when or where outages could be.
“What we are really concerned about is if we get really, really, heavy wet snow clinging to lines in wide-open spaces,” Owen told CTV News. “That will cause us a bit of a problem.”
Johanu Botha, head of Manitoba's Emergency Management Organization, said the province has been working very closely with Manitoba Hydro in planning for this kind of event.
"We always hope for the best, but we plan for the worst," he said.
"We are well aware that, should there be power outages, that we will have to prioritize their resource to ensure that municipalities and communities can continue to function."
In terms of emergency and critical services, Botha said the province has plans in place to ensure the critical threshold of those services can continue regardless of the storm.
"These services could be impacted, but we've done everything we can to minimize the impact on them."
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has warned home care services could be affected over the next few days due to a forecasted blizzard.
READ MORE: Blizzard could impact home care services in Winnipeg
Fisaha Unduche, executive director of hydrologic forecasting and water management with the province, said the forecast may avoid significant flooding.
With the mercury expected to remain below zero for the remainder of the week – this will allow for a slow and gradual melt.
"We know this is a significant snowstorm, but we've been through significant snowstorms many times. As Manitobans, we have experience of dealing even with storms way (more) serious than this one," said Unduche.
"Flood-wise, Manitoba rivers have capacity and our flood protections are well efficient to handle any volume that might come from this snowmelt."
But when the snow does start to fly, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwnuik said staff will be out immediately following the storm to ensure major arteries are cleared within four hours. He said it is important for Manitobans to be safe and smart on the roads.
"When the RCMP states it is closing the highways, if people can stay off the highways because not only is it going to be dangerous with the blowing snow, winds, but it is also the water that is in the ditches too."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.