After a night of snow and blowing snow, travel is difficult this morning in the Central Plains. All highways in the area are snow-covered and slippery with reduced visibility because of the wind. Snow drifts can be found in almost all open areas.

It's all from the Colorado low that continues to linger in our region. UPDATE - There were a few highways that were closed early this morning but those have all since been opened.

"To say this system has been a bit stubborn would be an understatement," said CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner with a chuckle Friday morning. "The center of this low remains nearly stationary over the Minnesota and Wisconsin area, and continues to produce snowfall that's coming our way east to west. We are expecting the system to weaken further today, and finally begin to move out of our area, but that's not before one more day of snowfall and blowing snow."

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A Blowing Snow Advisory remains in effect for pretty much the entire region. Poor visibility in snow and blowing snow is expected to continue through the day. The snow, gusty winds, and poor visibility may be intermittent at times but is expected to be an issue well into the afternoon. Blowing Snow Advisories are issued when blowing snow, caused by winds of at least 30 km/h, is expected to reduce visibility to 800 meters or less for at least 3 hours.

A Special Weather Statement remains in effect for most of Southern Manitoba, with an additional 2 to 5cms of snow, possibly more in some locations, along with gusty northerly winds up to 60 km/h, likely from now to Saturday morning.

"We're expecting light on again off again snowfall throughout a good portion of Friday, as additional bans spin off the storm that's been impacting the region since Tuesday night," he said. "With temperatures falling back to seasonal today, around -8 to -10, that will help lead to a transition from a heavy, wet snow to a drier, lighter form. That means, the gusty winds we're expecting will have a much easier time blowing that around, leading to a higher probability of reduced visibility, especially in open areas."

Sumner noted conditions will improve Saturday, with much colder weather on the way next week as an area of bitterly cold air moves into the region.

"We're still likely to see breezy conditions for much of Saturday, gusts between 40 and 50 km/h, so some blowing snow will still be a possibility," he said. "Any remaining flurries associated with this system should taper off before noon, and we may even get a peek of sunshine in the afternoon as temperatures continue to slide downward ahead of the arrival of a very cold Arctic airmass. A deep trough in the jet stream will allow this air to settle in in the Monday/Tuesday range next week, and then the forecast models are indicating it may remain until Christmas. Highs by Tuesday could be in the -21 to -24 range, with overnight lows in the -30s."

Sumner pointed out, on the sunny side, the arrival of the airmass will literally bring the sunshine back to the region, with the area of high pressure clearing things out, and bringing back several days of sunshine.

snow driftthe drifts a quite deep on some side streets