Snowstorm buries Brandon, cold temperatures follow

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2021 (1734 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon is digging out after a Colorado low weather system brushed Manitoba Sunday night and early Monday morning.

The storm dumped approximately 15 centimetres of snow on Brandon and across southern Manitoba, according to Environment Canada meteorologist David Baggaley. The snow started Sunday night and tapered off by Monday at noon.

The majority of the southern half of the province saw 15 centimetres of snow, but some areas saw up to 20 centimetres, he said.

“This time of year, it doesn’t take a lot to give you a bunch of snow,” he said, adding the northern United States saw even more snow.

Travel was not advised on Monday, he said. Low visibility is also possible Tuesday.

“The roads are going to have a lot of snow on them — it’ll take them a while to clear that off, so that’s a concern,” he said.

“This is a pretty widespread snowfall event.”

Manitoba 511 showed snow-covered highways across the province Monday afternoon. The Trans-Canada Highway was partly snow-covered between Brandon and Winnipeg.

City of Brandon snow-clearing efforts started at noon on Monday, said director of public works Pam Richardson. Plows are expected to work 24-7 over the next week to clear city streets and sidewalks, barring any major breakdowns.

“This is a full city-wide plow, so it does take us a little bit longer, especially when we have to deal with some of the residential areas,” she said.

Back lanes will be cleared by sanitation staff following the garbage and recycling collection cycle, Richardson said.

The City of Brandon is asking residents to follow the snow map on the city’s website to see when their street is being plowed. Residents should also move parked cars out of the way of snowplows when crews are in the area.

Patience is also important in the snow removal process, she said.

“There’s quite a significant amount of snow. It’s easier for the graders to plow than it is for the loaders to get caught up to do driveways. So if residents can just recognize that there could be a little bit of a delay between when the grader goes by and when the loader opens up their driveway,” Richardson said.

Looking forward, Baggaley said this week’s weather will be dominated by bitterly cold temperatures after the snow stops. Temperatures are forecasted to fall between -26 C and -30 C until Saturday.

“You have to be prepared for being stuck in the snow but also cold temperatures … you’re looking at extraordinarily cold temperatures coming up,” he said.

“It could be quite serious if you’re stuck [in a vehicle] somewhere for any length of time.”

Monday’s snowfall marked the most snow in a single day Brandon has received so far this winter.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_