Don't be fooled by ebb and flow: Here's how 'historic' blizzard will roll out in Manitoba

As people in southern Manitoba brace for spring to be thrown topsy-turvy into full-blown winter again, here's what to expect over the next three to four days.

A massive storm centred around a Colorado Low moving through North Dakota and Minnesota is stretching its limbs into the lower Prairies and expected to bring as much as 80 centimetres of snow to some places, along with intense winds.

"This storm has been described as historic," said Natalie Hasell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Snowfall totals will generally range from 30-50 centimetres but along the western side of the Red River Valley and into the escarpment of Riding Mountain and Turtle Mountain, the amounts will push closer to 80 cm and possibly higher, Hasell said.

The storm is on par with the three-day one in 1997 that began April 4 and ended April 7, pummelling Winnipeg with 48 cm and 80 cm further south, eventually leading to the Flood of the Century.

This time around, Winnipeg and areas to the north and east are under a storm warning, with winds expected to gust 60-70 km/h. Areas west and southwest of Winnipeg are under a blizzard warning with wind gusts of 70-90 km possible.

In both cases, zero visibility is expected at times and "widespread highway closures [are] a near-certainty," the warning from Environment Canada says, adding that by Wednesday evening, "even travel within communities may become impossible."

To be considered a blizzard, the storm must have sustained winds of at least 40 km/h, visibility reduced to at least 400 metres and for those conditions to last for at least four hours.

Communities just outside the warning areas will also be impacted — perhaps not as much to merit warning criteria —  but "conditions will likely be difficult," Hasell said.

Here's what to expect.

Southeastern Saskatchewan and areas along the Manitoba-U.S. border will start to see snow and "it will quickly progress" into the Parklands and Interlake and areas east of Lake Winnipeg overnight, said Hasell.

CBC Manitoba meteorologist John Sauder said the first flakes will likely be a mix of wet snow as temperatures remain close to zero.

Communities closer to the border will get their first taste around the supper hour and those in Winnipeg will see the snow starting around 11 p.m.

"We are fully involved," said Sauder.