Rankin Inlet shrugs off one-metre record snowfall

A snow plow operator in Rankin Inlet works to keep his machine from getting stuck in deep heavy snow. (FILE IMAGE)

Rankin Inlet emerged unscathed from a record blizzard snowfall of almost one metre by Friday morning, May 17, with major roads cleared and businesses waiting for delayed shipments to come through in the afternoon.

The hamlet office reported all roads open that morning, and flights into the community resumed after airport maintenance cleared up two days’ worth of drifting snow off the runway by noon, May 16.

“From six in the morning until 12 noon we were out on the runway, clearing,” said airport maintenance manager Ross Tatty. “It took us about five hours to clear the runway.”

About 98.5 centimetres of snow had fallen on Rankin Inlet from May 14 through the evening of May 16, the manager said.

The airport was closed to flights on May 14, May 15 and part of the 16th, he said, cutting the hamlet off from supply lines over that time.

The hamlet office, with the help of a snow removal contractor,proved equally quick at removing the heavy, damp snow from community streets.

Mayor Robert Janes’ warning to residents to stay off the roads Thursday allowed crews to clear snow without trouble.

“The town was pretty good in cooperating and not driving with maintenance crew-clearing,” Tatty said from the airport.

Janes reported snowdrifts as high as 15 feet in some places. Mild temperatures created some trouble for heavy equipment, he said, but no delays.

The hamlet’s major all-purpose store, Kissarvik Co-op, reported May 17 that it had only run short on milk, bread and eggs since May 14, with re-stock supplies expected to arrive during the afternoon of May 17.

An early shipment on May 14 helped keep grocery shelves full for most of the week, said Co-op general manager Walter Morey, so the blizzard “didn’t impact us too much.”

The store closed May 16 to help keep roads free for snow-clearing crews.

“We lost some sales,” said Morey. “I guess it was good for convenience stores,” he laughed.

Although blizzards are common to Rankin Inlet, “it was the most snow that I’ve ever seen on roads here, and I heard a lot of people say it’s the most snow they’ve seen in a long, long time,” said Morey, who has lived in Rankin Inlet for eight years.

“In some places you have snow drifts anywhere from five to seven feet tall,” he said. “It’s dangerous to walk.”

Snow started melting soon after the hamlet had cleared the roads, creating puddles and slush for residents to contend with on May 17.

“Everybody has to be super careful, especially some ATVs,” said Morey. “Some people don’t have great tires on those things, so they go slipping and sliding.”

M and T Enterprises, an all-purpose shipping company and contractor, was quick help the hamlet in snow-clearing operations.

“It’s pretty much back to normal,” said M and T general manager Hamish Tatty, who helped with the clean-up.

Flights were transporting supplies in and out of the hamlet resumed by 4 p.m., he said.

“We’ve had enough of seeing snow right now,” he laughed. “We’ve got our fingers crossed.”

Janes was thankful for the contractor’s help, and kept an eye out for changing conditions in the afternoon. Rain and zero-degree temperatures prevailed.

“The next issue we’re going to have to deal with is the amount of runoff from this melting snow,” he said.