Hello January: fierce winds rip roofs off homes in eastern Nunavut

How’s that for air conditioning? Part of the roof on this Pangnirtung home got sheared off through the night Jan. 12 and knocked over the fuel tank as winds gusted to more than 100 km per hour. (PHOTO BY DAVID KILABUK)

Here’s what that Pangnirtung home looks from the inside after winds tore part of the roof off Jan. 12. (PHOTO BY DAVID KILABUK)

An unusually strong wind system is moving through the eastern Arctic, prompting Environment Canada to issue a wind warning for the Baffin region Jan. 12 as a “strong low pressure system” moves west through northern Quebec.

That system is creating powerful easterly winds, the warning said, which could see gusts in some communities exceed 100 kilometres per hour.

In Iqaluit, strong easterly wind gusts up to 90 km/h were expected during the afternoon of Jan. 12 to midnight, with “very mild temperatures,” the warning said.

A wind gust of 109 km/h already ripped through Pangnirtung in the early morning of Jan. 12, accompanied by temperatures reaching 5 C, according to 1 a.m. weather update for Pangnirtung from Environment Canada.

A Nunatsiaq News reader from Pangnirtung said the gust blew part of the roof of one house right off, which then hit a fuel tank and knocked it over.

Pangnirtung residents experienced power outages early Jan. 12, but Andy Burns, manager of operations and maintenance with the Qulliq Energy Corp., told Nunatsiaq News Jan. 12 that only three customers currently remain without power (although shortly after midnight Jan. 13, the QEC tweeted: “Pangnirtung: Multiple outages caused by very strong winds. Crew is working to restore power as quickly as possible after each outage.”)

Residents of Grise Fiord on Ellesmere Island aren’t quite as lucky.

Burns said power has been restored to about 50 per cent of that community after high winds early Jan. 12 caused numerous power outages overnight.

“In the early morning, a roof blew off a house and debris physically went through our power lines,” Burns said.

Windy conditions persist in Grise Fiord, making it unsafe for QEC staff to work outdoors, said Burns.

Crews from the power corporation are waiting for better weather before flying to Grise Fiord to help in the repairs. Meanwhile staff are offering remote support from Iqaluit.

“Grise Fiord is our priority right now,” Burns said, adding the crew will fly to Pond Inlet first, weather permitting, in order to make the trip to Grise Fiord shorter once weather in that area allows for safe air travel.

The same crew will then fly to Pangnirtung, Burns said.

“Depending on resources, and how long Grise Fiord is going to take, we may send another charter into Pangnirtung to address that problem. We’re just waiting for the weather to clear out everywhere.”

Because plans to repair damage in Grise Fiord and Pangnirtung are dependent on the weather, Burns said he couldn’t provide a timeline of when power will be fully restored in either community.

“QEC appreciates our customers’ patience and understanding while we work to restore power to all customers,” he said.