A white Christmas is guaranteed for essentially all of Southern Manitoba after 5-10cms of snow fell Friday and Saturday across the region. According to preliminary figures released Sunday morning, a few locations received even a little more of the flaky white stuff, adding to what many would consider the traditional look at this time of year… a white blanket of snow covering the landscape and evergreen boughs.

“An Alberta Clipper was responsible for the snowfall, which based on some of the comments I heard this week, was secretly hoped for,” said CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. With a chuckle “After well above temperatures last week, more than ten degrees above normal in some cases, plus the rainfall we had… well, it was starting to look like a brown, April-like Christmas in some parts of the province.”

Here are the snowfall totals from Environment Canada as of 3 a.m. Sunday (in centimeters):

Flin Flon: 22
Portage La Prairie: 13
Gretna: 12
The Pas: 11
Winnipeg: 11
Landmark: 10
Morden: 9
Carberry: 8
Fisher Branch: 8
Lynn Lake: 6
Grand Rapids: 6
Brandon: 5

As the system moves out of the region Sunday, gusty northwesterly winds up to 40 km/h will develop, so Sumner is warning those with travel plans today to be aware of road conditions and drive accordingly.

“The snow that fell was relatively light, and it won’t take much of a wind for it to start blowing in open areas. Drive to conditions, and keep an eye on the road report as you hit the highway for Christmas gatherings.”

Sumner adds more snow may be on the way mid to late this week, based on what the long range forecast models are currently indicating.

“The models are suggesting a strong winter storm will cross the central and northern U.S. Plains some time between Boxing Day and December 28th. It’s still very early to say with any certainty what the track of the storm will be, or how much snow it could pack, and where it could fall,” explains Sumner. “The important thing to note is the possibility the system may move far enough north that parts of Southern Manitoba could be impacted. At this point, my advice is to keep an eye on the forecast, and simply be aware of the possibility.”