Monday, February 02, 2009

Whiteouts cause pile-up on TransCanada

A sudden snowsquall moving across the TransCanada Sunday afternoon brought whiteout conditions that contributed to a large multi-vehicle accident just east of Portage around 3 pm. The collision, which occurred in the wesbound lanes near the Hwy 13 junction near Oakville, involved 5 tractor trailers and 7 vehicles. Luckily there were no fatalities or serious injuries. Sources say the initial collision involved 2 tractor trailers and a car, which set off a chain reaction as other westbound motorists couldn't stop in time in the blinding whiteout to avoid the collision. The sudden snowsquall lasted only about 30 minutes and was associated with an Arctic cold front pushing through southern MB at the time. Sunny skies and temperatures of -5C ahead of the front changed suddenly to whiteout conditions and gusty north winds behind the front, with temperatures falling to -12C. These short-lived blizzards can be quite dangerous to travellers as conditions can deteriorate rapidly with little warning.

2 comments:

  1. The conditions that hit on Sunday were something I have never seen in quite some time!

    When that squall hit it was like a "white hurricane"

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