Flood forecasters are deferring predictions until next week after this week’s snow.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre say that preliminary results from this week’s winter storm indicate 15 to 35 centimetres of snow has fallen in much of southern Manitoba, and the Interlake and Parklands regions, with some localized areas receiving up to 40 to 50 cm.

A further five to 15 cm of snow is expected in southern and central Manitoba before noon Friday.

Temperatures are forecast to remain near freezing until April 21 in most locations, which will delay melting and runoff until that time.

Flood forecasters will continue to monitor precipitation and collect data about snowfall amounts and will release an updated river forecast next week.

As water levels continue to recede, the use of the Portage Diversion will be discontinued. The Red River Floodway continues to operate to lower water levels in Winnipeg and operation is expected to end Friday as flows on the Red River continue to decrease.