Once again, winds bring Nunavut’s south Baffin to a standstill

Worried about the weather? The co-operative store in Baker Lake has put together an emergency pack to help you get through storms. While Iqaluit remained shutdown Nov. 21 due to wind, Baker Lake was in the throes of a blizzard, with 60 km/h winds gusting to 90 km/hr and a wind chill of minus 28 C. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BAKER LAKE CO-OP/FACEBOOK)

Apart from the unremittingly loud whistle of the wind, Nunavut’s capital, Iqaluit, was a quiet place Nov. 20 and for most of Nov. 21.

That’s because gusts of more than 90 kilometres an hour shut down municipal services, offices, schools, businesses and the airport, keeping the roughly 7,700 residents of the city hunkered down at home—sometimes in the dark as power went off.

The City of Iqaluit only restored municipal services early Nov. 22.

Until then, a low-pressure system had stalled over south Baffin, bringing gusts of up to 93 km/h in Iqaluit and up to 117 km/h in Pangnirtung during the night of Nov. 20.

In Iqaluit, the wind knocked down street signs, formed hard drifts and caused power outages in many places around the city late Nov. 20.

It’s not very cold at all. It’s just windy the apartment building is shaking every now and again though. #iqaluit #nustorm #windy #snow @MurphTWN pic.twitter.com/XtRW7pFwbx

— Connie Nowdluk (@QbcConsuela) November 20, 2017

In Pangnirtung, high winds often funnel through the nearby fiord—so much so that people have sometimes taken to using wire to keep their roofs down.

But on Nov. 20, Daniel Kuluguqtuq worried about his home in the community, where the wind was so strong it blew a seacan around and turned fishing cabins upside down, with qamutiit sleds still attached to them.

I thought the windows were going to break over night, gusting to 113 km/h and supposed to be same strong winds all day.

— Daniel Kuluguqtuq (@dkulugutuk) November 21, 2017

For Iqaluit Nov. 21, Environment Canada forecast wind from the east at 50 km/h gusting to 70 km/h increasing to 70 km/h gusting to 100 km/h in the afternoon. The wind warning was finally lifted at about 3:30 p.m., around the same time as businesses and the post office opened and an aircraft landed at the Iqaluit airport.

In Pangnirtung, throughout Nov. 21, the wind continued to gust to 110 km/h and up to 140 km/hr at the Parks Canada building, Environment Canada reported, or up to 209 km/hr there, according to the Parks Canada weather station.

Temperatures on Nov. 21 also proved to be record-breakers, with the 3.5 C afternoon temperature in Iqaluit breaking the record high of 0.6 C set in 1952, and the 5.2 C temperature in Pangnirtung also breaking the previously recorded high of 3.6 C set in 2015.

In Iqaluit, conditions remained poor Nov. 21, with rain, freezing rain and wind.

Went out to shovel snow away from snowmobile, off the boat cover, garbage bin, etc. Wind literally blew me down the icy driveway. Wind gusts are still really strong and super slippery out there. #NUStorm

— Kyle Sheppard (@Maqaiti) November 21, 2017

The swearing-in of Nunavut’s new premier, Paul Quassa, and cabinet members, still went ahead as scheduled at 10 a.m. in the territorial assembly, followed by the first sitting of the new legislature in the afternoon.

But Quassa’s wife, Elisapee Quassa, wasn’t able to make it to the legislature to see her husband’s historic swearing in ceremony.

“The roads are closed,” he said, “I hope she’s watching on TV.”

The low-pressure system was expected to weaken Nov. 22, bringing an end to the extreme wind, Environment Canada said.

Winds were also high in Nunavik where peak winds registered at 106 km/hr in Salluit, 101 km/hr in Quaqtaq and 99 km/hr in Kangirsuk from Nov. 20 to 6:30 a.m. Nov. 21, according to a weather map prepared by Patrick Duplessis, a Dalhousie University graduate student in atmospheric science.

It’s not the first time that big winds have brought Iqaluit to a standstill recently. Nunavik and Nunavut endured a weekend of extreme wind and snow over the weekend of Sept. 30, leading to a similar shutdown in Iqaluit and many cancellations.

Researchers have suggested that in the future, wind speed and direction changes linked to climate change may pose problems for aircraft heading into airports in the North.

The reduction of ice cover on Hudson Bay and associated changes in wind patterns could also impact on the ability of polar bears to hunt.

Previous NASA studies have shown that the rising frequency and intensity of Arctic storms over the last 50 years, due to progressively warmer waters, may also have a feedback effect on warming in the Arctic. The storms speed up Arctic sea ice drift, “long considered by scientists as a bellwether of climate change,” NASA says.

On Nov. 21, Nunavut also had blizzard warnings from Environment Canada in Arviat, Baker Lake, Coral Harbour, Hall Beach, Igloolik, Naujaat, Rankin Inlet, Whale Cove and Resolute Bay.

Spurred by the bad weather in Baker Lake, the Sanavik Co-op store has started to sell emergency kits. To “stay ahead of the frightful weather,” each kit includes a blanket, flashlight, batteries, thermal underwear, gloves, warm socks, water, snacks and more.

Find your windy spot: this map by Patrick Duplessis of Dalhousie University shows the peak winds from Nov. 20 to Nov. 21 in Nunavut and Nunavik. (MAP COURTESY OF PATRICK DUPLESSIS/TWITTER)