Warm weather poses problems

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/02/2009 (6182 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

April showers might bring May flowers, but when the rain falls in February it brings no shortage of headaches.

Manitobans woke up Monday to freezing rain, highways of sheet ice, and plenty of slipping and sliding for those who ventured outdoors on foot or by motor vehicle.

And if the forecast holds, today could bring more of the same.

City services

Winnipeg had all hands on deck Monday, with about 250 people working to sand and salt the roads and unblock street drains, among other duties.

Well, almost all hands. Recycling and trash collection were suspended due to road conditions, said solid wastes manager Darryl Drohomerski, and whether they resume today depends, not surprisingly, on the weather.

If Monday was your recycling or garbage day, the city says you should haul your garbage and blue box inside and wait until your number rolls around again.

The city had all of its spreader trucks out to tackle the icy roadways, with 30 front-end loaders to unblock frozen curb drains that let water off the roads. Crews focused on main routes Sunday night, with Monday spent on bus routes and collector streets and sidewalk sanding ongoing. Officials are keeping an eye on sanding needs on residential streets, and watching for potholes.

“The intensity of this rain and the extent of the freezing rain is certainly unusual in February for us,” said street maintenance manager Bruce McPhail.

Getting around

Closed highways, stranded Greyhounds and planes, delayed city buses and hundreds of vehicles careening into the ditch — that was Monday.

“It looked like somebody made our highways into used car lots… there were so many cars in the ditches everywhere,” said Cpl. Larry Dalman with Headingley RCMP Traffic Services.

Numerous portions of highways around the province were closed Monday, with travel not advised on most others. A fire truck and two sanding units were among vehicles that slid off the road, said Dalman, and one stretch of Highway 7 had 30 vehicles in the ditch. He estimated 1,000 vehicles went into the ditch around the province.

Manitoba Public Insurance expected to get close to 2,000 new claims by the end of the Monday. By late afternoon they had already received 1,100 calls, said spokesman Brian Smiley, including 660 from Winnipeg.

“It would be safe to say that today’s weather did not help us in terms of keeping our claim numbers down,” said Smiley, who cautioned not all claims were due to Monday’s weather.

Not everyone made it safely from point A to point B.

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spokeswoman Heidi Graham said by 10 a.m., one community clinic had seen five fractures.

The Richardson International Airport suspended all flights for about 90 minutes on Monday morning, the first time freezing rain has grounded flights since 1986. Winnipeg Airports Authority spokeswoman Christine Alongi said halting the flights meant crews could sand the runways and apply de-icer.

Greyhound stopped all buses in and out of Winnipeg on Monday due to treacherous highway conditions, and by early evening, bus service was still limited.

Buses were also cancelled at public and independent schools in Winnipeg.

The perilous roads meant good business for one group — taxi drivers.

“We were very busy earlier in the day for sure, overwhelmed I guess, at one point,” said Duffy’s Taxi general manager John King, who said morning cab waits were at least half an hour.

Recreation:

The Forks river trail might have some competition for the country’s longest skating path. No, not from Ottawa’s Rideau Canal.

Try Highway 3, in rural Manitoba.

Monday’s rainfall turned the highway into a polished rink, and siblings Carly and Cody Maicher strapped on their skates to test the ice near their home in Sanford.

“It was the smoothest skate I’ve had all year,” said Carly, who spent half an hour skating with 21-year-old Cody. “I went on the river by The Forks there, and it was much smoother on the highway.”

Carly and Cody’s mother said the road was clear of traffic. “Zero, nada, nothing. It was amazing,” said Patty Maicher, who watched from the shoulder while her other son Danny drove alongside videotaping the skaters. “It was like a hockey rink as far as the eyes could see.”

Skaters in Winnipeg didn’t fare quite so well, with sports events cancelled at most outdoor community rinks.

“Right now I think probably rubber boots are the footwear of the day,” said Marlene Amell, executive director of the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres.

Skaters who ventured onto the river trail would have found it tough going, said The Forks chief operating officer Paul Jordan. The trail isn’t technically closed, although Winnipeggers who want the ice to stay in good condition should stay away for today.

“We’re sort of asking people just to stay off for a couple of days, just because it gets wrecked,” he said.

Officials at The Forks are crossing their fingers that heavy street drainage onto the river doesn’t wreck the ice.

“Basically, it’s game over once that happens,” Jordan said.

The Monday night So You Think You Can Dance Canada performance at the MTS Centre was postponed because of the extreme weather conditions.

The show has been rescheduled until tonight at 7:30 p.m.

All tickets will be honoured.

lindsey.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

What’s next?

Winnipeg received 15.5 mm of rain by early Monday afternoon, and was expected to receive another 10 mm overnight. But after more drizzly skies today, the rain could turn to snow by evening.

“We’re expecting that it’s going to sort of be another day of mixed rain and snow, although we’re not expecting as much freezing rain,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau.

The snowfall could be heavier other regions: Melita could be hit with 15 to 20 centimetres by tonight, with 10 to 15 cm predicted for Dauphin and Riding Mountain.