Winds rock Nunavut

Record strength winds for October blasted Rankin Inlet on the weekend, peaking at 100 kilometers an hour with gusts to 137 km/h on Sunday afternoon. The previous record was set on

Oct. 14, 1997 when winds of 93 km/h and gusts of 137 km/hr were recorded.

Environment Canada says last week’s sustained wind was only surpassed in January 1999 and May 2002, when winds of 102 km/h were measured.

November 1965 likely saw one of the strongest Nunavut wind events, with winds of 142 km/h gusting to 158 km/h at Resolute Bay.

Last Friday, the weather office issued winds or blizzard warnings for 15 communities in Nunavut. Peak winds were as follows: Iqaluit (70 km/h), Cape Dorset (70 km/h), Coral Harbour (65 km/h), Rankin (100km/h), Baker Lake (76 km/h), Arviat (85 km/h), Hall Beach (60 km/h), Gjoa Haven (70 km/h), Resolute (59 km/h), Pangnirtung (54 km/h), Pond Inlet (54 km/h), and Taloyoak (50 km/h).

According to Environment Canada, temperatures near or above freezing prevented the blizzard conditions over much of the Kivalliq area from being more widespread.

The two big storms both tracked northward from the U.S., through Manitoba and into Hudson Bay, bringing a lot of potential energy from the South that combined with open water of Hudson Bay, to form an intense low pressure system.