IQALUIT – Pangnirtung Mayor Eric Lawlor couldn’t see out of the windows on Sunday.
That’s when a one-day snowstorm hit the Baffin Island community of about 1,500 residents, shaking houses and crushing cabins.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, winds reached 135 km / h that day.
“It was like an all day thing. The wind was so strong, ”Lawlor said.
Sky Panipak, who also lives in Pangnirtung, posted a photo on Twitter of a resident’s home where the front steps were ripped from the door.
“Many huts and cabins disappeared. Many, many snowmobile windshields are gone. Some injuries we’ve heard about so far, ”Panipak said, noting that a resident had been taken to a southern hospital after being injured in the storm.
Sara Hoffman, a meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the December 27 storm affected most of the territory. Of 25 communities, 23 were hit by the same storm, which came from Quebec.
Hoffman said his team is investigating whether Sunday was a record day for such a storm in the territory.
“It is quite unusual for a storm like that in late December. We don’t normally see that, ”Hoffman said.
Lawlor said much of the damage from the storm affected Nunavut Government homes. At this time, he said the village’s priority is to keep the roads clear so that people can leave their homes.
He said it is not unusual for Pangnirtung to see strong winds, but they generally hit the community in the summer and fall months, when the weather is warmer.
“We are used to having winds of 70 to 90 km. During the summer it is just as bad. A few years ago, we even had a vehicle that flipped over due to the wind, ”Lawlor said.
Hoffman explained that open water fuels storms, mixing cold weather with warm water to create winds like the ones Pangnirtung saw on Sunday.
“When Hudson Bay has open water, that’s an important source of energy for storms … Parts of those areas remain ice-free more and more,” he said.
Hoffman said cold Northwest weather and warmer Southeast weather collided to create the weekend blizzard that swept across most of the territory, creating the “perfect storm” for especially strong winds.
He also said that Pangnirtung, which is located on a fjord and surrounded by mountains, is the ideal place for a blizzard to develop.
“When they get the prevailing wind direction set correctly, the surrounding terrain can improve it,” he said.
Hoffman said Coral Harbor, at the northern tip of Hudson Bay, was also hit hard by the same blizzard, with winds of up to 115 km / h. Winds also reached 80 km / h in Iqaluit that day.
Two days later, snowstorm warnings were still in effect for Gjoa Haven and Grise Fiord.
“It’s much weaker than (Sunday), but we still have alerts because it was such a powerful storm,” Hoffman said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on December 29, 2020.
Emma Tranter, The Canadian Press
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