‘Blizzard alley’: High winds whip through Kivalliq communities
Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet saw wind speeds reach 113 kilometres per hour Monday
A Nav Canada tower leans on Rankin Inlet’s airport on Monday, after high winds knocked it over. (Photo courtesy of Shane Niego/Twitter)
Nunavut’s Kivalliq region saw high winds whip through communities on Monday.
In one photo posted to social media by a Rankin Inlet resident, a transmitter at Rankin Inlet’s airport appeared to be knocked down in the wind.
Nunavut’s Department of Economic Development and Transportation spokesperson Darrin Nichol confirmed to Nunatsiaq News that a radio communications tower that belongs to Nav Canada is down and “currently resting on top of the air terminal building.”
Nichol said a barricade was erected to “keep the public from the fallen tower” and plans are being made to lower the tower from the airport when the wind dies down.
“The Government of Nunavut is in contact with Nav Canada regarding the matter and is closely monitoring the situation,” Nichol wrote.
There is no impact on airport operations, he said.
Gusts reached up to 113 km-h in Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet on Monday, with a mean wind speed of 96 km-h in Rankin, said Danielle Desjardins, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Chesterfield Inlet had a mean wind spend of 81 km-h, while Baker Lake hit 98 km-h and Arviat reached 96 km-h.
Rankin Inlet, Whale Cove and Chesterfield Inlet are still under wind warnings, Desjardins said late Monday afternoon.
Wind gusts are expected to continue into the night before calming to about 60 to 70 km-h overnight.
“We’re experiencing the worst right now and things should calm down a little bit at least,” Desjardins said.
She said the Kivalliq sees so much wind because of a high-pressure system in Western Canada and a low pressure system over Baffin Island.
“So we get this gradient in between. You get these really strong winds,” she said.
Desjardins said meteorologists sometimes refer to the Kivalliq as “blizzard alley” because of the frequency of its storms.
She said high winds are expected to continue throughout the Kivalliq this week, but won’t hit the speeds they did Monday.
Unfortunately, Rankin residents had to wait until minutes before 8:30 to receive any word on whether the GN would be closing or not. By then many children had already made their way to school only to be turned back and forced to travel both ways in the dangerous weather.
This is not unusual for our community, but it is unacceptable. By the time we had word Whale Cove, Baker Lake and Chester had all received notification via GN email. So, why does it take so long in Rankin?
Not only do there need to be better protocols in place, there needs to be a more apt person in charge. Whomever is responsible for this, is not acting responsibly at all.
Why wait for someone to tell you it is dangerous to travel or walk out of doors. You have access to the same information as decision makers. Make your own choices for yourself and your children. If it is that windy with stuff flying about and your hair straight back it might be time to hunker down, wait for an official ruling, and if you feel the decision was not right for your situation, stay hunkered down.
Of course many will do this, unfortunately not everyone is going to think in this way. Either way, fixing the ‘system’ seems worth pursuing, wouldn’t you agree?
GN is full of unqualified staff. Remove GN and let NTI and KIA take over Nunavut operations. GN sucks!
Hmmm – never worked much with NTI staff have you? 😉