and Reuter News Agency
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Winter clutched the Prairies once more this week and forced flood forecasters to re-evaluate the water situation for Manitobans.
Aerial surveys early this week confirmed the worst of possibilities. The 50 centimetres of new snow that paralyzed much of southern Manitoba over the weekend have a high water content.
The Manitoba melt had started perfectly. The snow pack was shrinking, shallow frost depths meant melt waters were starting to soak into already damp ground and the runoff hadn’t even begun to fill waterways.
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“We will have to rework everything to establish where we are now,” said Rick Bowering, of Manitoba Water Resources, in Winnipeg.
“This snow will definitely aggravate an already difficult situation. The melt was progressing as well as we could have hoped, but now we’re back to square one.”
Compounding the situation, the snow in Manitoba fell as heavy rain south of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Rain there will accelerate the snow melt in the lower Red River basin, increasing the water flowing into an even more wintery Manitoba. The potential for problems with river ice has increased as the province’s new snow cover will reflect daytime heating from the sun and further insulate river ice, preventing an orderly breakup.
Manitoba flood officials say it is too early to predict the total impact of winter’s last gasp, but they indicate the news will not be good.
Normal snow accumulation for Winnipeg since Oct. 1 is 104.8 centimetres, but accumulation to date this winter reached 205.8 cm, Environment Canada said.
The storm blocked the Trans-Canada Highway and other minor highways for several days starting April 5.
A four-lane highway linking Manitoba to Minnesota and North Dakota remained closed for a third day due to blizzard conditions, but Winnipeg’s airport reopened Monday.
Hundreds of cars were abandoned in and around Winnipeg but only a few injuries were reported, RCMP said.
Trains were running but were delayed by the weather.
