Winter weather causing school bus cancellations, highway closures in Manitoba

File image of a snowy day in Manitoba.

The winter weather conditions across Manitoba have caused some highway closures and school bus cancellations on Friday morning.

According to Manitoba 511, Highway 250 from Highway 1 to Souris is closed due to poor winter driving conditions.

The westbound lanes of Highway 1 were closed from Brandon to Highway 21, but have since reopened.

Along with these highway closures, some school divisions are reporting bus cancellations.

The Prairie Rose School Division announced that bus service is cancelled for regions A and B; however, buses are running in region C.

In the Brandon School Division, buses will not be operating outside the city due to highway closures, but buses will be running within Brandon. The Alexander School is closed, while all other schools in the division are open

These road closures and bus cancellations come as some southern Manitoba communities, including Winkler, Steinbach and Portage la Prairie, are facing a blowing snow advisory.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued this advisory on Friday morning, saying that the combination of northwesterly wind gusts of up to 70 km/h and freshly fallen snow are causing reduced visibilities.

The weather agency notes that the blowing snow will end on Friday morning as the wind weakens.

ECCC warns that travel is expected to be dangerous. If you’re driving and the visibility is reduced, you should slow down, watch for tail lights ahead and be prepared to stop.

In Manitoba’s north, the weather agency has issued an extreme cold warning for the communities of Brochet, Churchill, Tadoule Lake and York. 

The warning says that temperatures in the -30s and -40s combined with northwesterly winds will cause extreme wind chill values of -45 to -50. These extreme wind chills are expected to remain for the next few days due to an Arctic mass.

ECCC warns residents that extreme cold puts everyone at risk, so you need to watch for cold-related symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, and numbness and colour change in your fingers and toes.

Those with pets are reminded that if it’s too cold for you to stay outside, it’s also too cold for your pets.