Southern Manitoba is in for a slap from Old Man Winter on Friday, with a blizzard warning issued for the Red River Valley and a winter storm warning issued for the rest of the south.

The stormy weather is expected to begin on Friday, with snow and wind intensifying as the day progresses, according to CBC meteorologist John Sauder.

A winter storm warning is issued when 25 centimetres of snow or more is expected to fall in a 24-hour period, or 10 centimetres of snow within 12 hours.

A blizzard warning has the same criteria as a winter storm but adds reduced visibility due to blowing snow, Sauder said.

A blizzard warning is issued when four or more hours of reduced visibility, at 400 metres metres or less, is expected due to snow and sustained winds of at least 40 km/h.

Wintry mix

The combination of a cold front invading from the north and a Colorado low passing through Minnesota will bring a wintry mix of heavy snow, freezing precipitation, strong northeast winds and low visibilities in blowing snow to much of southern Manitoba Friday and into Saturday.

"Inside the city it might not look all that bad first thing in the morning. But as the day progresses the winds by suppertime, or slightly later, [will be] 50 to 70 km/hour out of the north, and the snow will be coming down [like] gangbusters," Sauder said late Thursday.

"Most of the snowfall will happen late on Friday and even Saturday morning," he added.

The Manitoba government says its snow plows and highway maintenance crews are ready for the upcoming storm.

The province is advising motorists to be careful when approaching snow-clearing equipment on highways and provincial roads. Drivers are also being reminded to check the latest road conditions before they head out.

When the storm is over, Winnipeggers will be shoveling away 10 to 20 centimetres of new snow, and they'll be bundling up to do it — along with the snow and wind, temperatures are going to plummet.

Daytime highs starting Saturday and lasting through most of next week are expected to hover around –20 C. The lows are expected to be in the –25 C to –30 C range.

Normal temperatures for this time of year are daytime highs of –13 C and overnight lows of – 24 C.