Environment Canada is warning that a historic storm will hit Manitoba over the next couple of days, and residents are preparing for the worst.
The storm is expected to hit most of Manitoba on Wednesday morning. The forecast called for strong wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres an hour, reduced visibility with blowing snow and falling temperatures.
There could be up to 50 centimetres of snow in southeastern Saskatchewan, while southwestern Manitoba could see 80 centimetres if the storm hits with its predicted ferocity, Environment Canada said.
Natalie Hasell, the agency’s warning preparedness meteorologist, said there may be a break in the storm in southern Manitoba on Wednesday, but she warned not to be fooled. This is merely a pause, she said.
“Imagine this as waves of the storm, so the first wave occurs, then there’s a bit of a break and then there’s the second wave,” Ms. Hasell said.
The last storm of this projected magnitude in the region – in April, 1997 – was described as the storm of the century and pummelled Winnipeg for three days. It was followed by the flood of the century. Environment Canada said the storm that is making its way toward the province is similar in size and strength.
In Winnipeg, all metro school divisions pre-emptively cancelled bus transportation for Wednesday and Thursday.
Bruce Owen, with Manitoba Hydro, encouraged customers to be prepared for possible extended power outages, prescribing emergency kits for their homes to last for at least 72 hours.
Manitoba Hydro has already been discussing where its resources will be focused during this storm. If one area of the province is hit particularly hard, crews will be dispatched from another district to help restore power as quickly as possible. But Mr. Owen said customers need to be patient.
“We need to travel on the same roads that they use, so if there is heavy drifting in some areas, we will need those roads to be plowed before we can get access to start to restore service,” he said.
Meanwhile, essential supplies were flying off store shelves Tuesday as people in Winnipeg braced for what could be days stuck at home. Canadian Tire has sold out of generators everywhere in the entire city. “We just sold the last one,” said Barb Blair, a Canadian Tire cashier.
Lights, flashlights, shovels, ice melt and candles are also completely gone, she said.
Mr. Owen reminded people using generators not to bring them inside their homes. “The last thing we want to have out of all of this is a carbon monoxide scare,” he said.
Manitoba resident Chantel Wilson is helping people prepare. Ms. Wilson stopped in to check on one of the elders in her community of Waywayseecappo First Nation, three hours northwest of Winnipeg, making sure the elderly woman has food and her laundry done. The elder boiled eggs and made tea ahead of time to prepare for the storm.
But Ms. Wilson, a single mother of two, is going to stay with friends and ride the storm out in the city where there are more amenities and resources – and company.
“Instead of me being alone, we’ll be getting everybody together and combining households so that we’re not alone and we’ll have more body warmth that way,” she laughed.
Environment Canada said Manitoba will be affected by the storm until Friday before the system moves off into northwestern Ontario.
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